Arabian Nights
by Linhae
Summary: AU When Arabian prince Luffy ran away to escape palace traditions, he had no idea that escaping the country would be such a hassle! A mishap with rebel leader Arlong brings in a homicidal green genie named Zoro... Full sum inside. Language. No pairings.
1. Kingdom of the East

Full Summary:

**When Arabian prince Monkey D. Luffy ran away from the palace to escape palace traditions, he had no idea that getting to the sea in the first place would be such a hassle! After being kidnapped by the rebel army and sent to find a dusty old lamp in exchange for a ship, Luffy is betrayed by head rebel Arlong and trapped in the cave with the grumpy-ass genie, Roronoa Zoro! Together the two take the adventure of crossing the desert towards freedom, meeting street rat Usopp, ultimate cuisine chef Sanji, and rebel spy Nami! But Arlong is not the kind of person who would let the green-haired key to overrunning the sultan of the East Blue kingdom escape so easily... Inspired by the Disney movie, Aladdin. And then unraveled and screwed ten times over. **_**And no romance in it at all.**_

Welcome to my side project of Arabian Nights! This is directly inspired by 'Western Piece' by ZeldaAddict42, the AU of the East Blue Strawhats as cowboys in the Wild West. I was watching some old Disney movies the other day, and when I was watching Aladdin I thought 'I love that genie… He's almost as cool as Zoro! … What if the genie _was_ Zoro?' And BAM, there it was. I went and typed this chapter (along with the two chapters of Horizons, and my fingers fell off) and then decided I like this story. This story will only go as far as the East Blue characters, and I will leave the rest of it up to your imagination. That means this story actually ends somewhere, unlike Horizons.

**But do not expect weekly updates for this story!** I'm still updating Horizons weekly, and am only doing this in my spare time! Hopefully you'll enjoy this side project as much as I enjoyed reading it (but preferably a lot more than I enjoyed my fingers falling off.)

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of One Piece or the plot of Aladdin, no matter how much this story deviates from both.

Also, I've put in the names backwards, or forwards to people not from Japan. Instead of Monkey D. Luffy it would be Luffy D. Monkey, etc. Except for Shanks. He's a cool foreigner in here.

* * *

"**Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place**

**Where the caravan camels roam**

**Where it's flat and immense**

**And the heat is intense**

**It's barbaric, but hey, it's home"**

**~Bruce Adler**

"Far, far away, across the searing deserts and unending dunes, there was a beautiful kingdom known as the East Blue. It was so called because of the fact that despite the harshest climates, despite the hardest times, that little kingdom in the east had the purest, most plentiful springs in the palace."

"That kingdom's nothing but a fairy tale; a myth." The merchant looked up from her captivated audience to look at the man with disdain. Her audience consisted of no more than children, all eager to hear whatever tale she was about to tell. She had been quite unsuccessful with selling her wares to the parents, but had lured in the children with her famous tales.

She had always been more successful in her story-telling than her merchanting, despite her original occupation being a traveling merchant. She frowned up at the man who had interrupted her.

"And what makes you so sure that isn't what they want you to think?" The man snorted.

"Everyone knows it's a lie; World Government conspiracy theories be damned." The merchant sadly shook her head.

"And that's why it's so important for me to repeat these 'myths' before they are lost to time" She replied, using air quotes around "myths." "Besides, what are truths today? For all you know, such a conversation as this never existed, if enough people say so." The man rolled his eyes.

"I'll take my chances. East Blue is nothing but the basis for a paradise the World Government wants us dreaming for, just so we'll remain loyal to them when they want to travel into that godforsaken country. There are thousands of stories about it, too. What makes your story true?" The merchant gained a twinkle in her eye as she rummaged around for something in her bag. She then produced a small, bronze lamp.

The dulled lamp was past the point of rusting, despite the obvious care that it was shown, and was only about eight inches long. Simple yet ornate, the glimmer of metal drew the children close as she unraveled the green cloth covering it. The most important detail was the long, diagonal streak of grey metal running in an entire circle around the lamp; as though it had been broken in half at some point, from the right side of its handle to the left side of its spout, and melded together with unmatching metal that warped the bronze around it. The merchant looked down at the lamp fondly, then turned back to her audience with a smirk.

"This, my friends, is all the proof you'll ever need when I tell you the story of Luffy D. Monkey, prince of the East Blue…"

* * *

Shanks raced down the halls of the palace, clutching the roll of papers in his lone hand. His sandals flapped as he rushed past the guards, whom nonchalantly stood to one side, used to the man's rushing. He had unusual red hair pressed flat on his head by the (also unusual) straw hat he wore, shadowing the three scars over his eye. His left sleeve flapped uselessly.

There were many stories about Akagami no Shanks, who was apparently given the name in his country of origin. The sultan, Garp D. Monkey, had found him in his travels as a prince. For reasons unknown, he had taken the foreigner and made him his Grand Vizier when he became sultan, despite any protests the people may have for a foreigner in such a position in their kingdom.

Shanks nearly dropped the scrolls as he reached up to adjust his hat, then sighed as he reached the throne room. The sultan may have been a long-time friend of his, but that didn't mean he was looking forward to any interactions.

"Garp-san, those summons have arrived!" The man's odd honorifics were also something that he had inherited from his country, and the people around him soon found themselves picking up on such. Even if the only company he usually kept was the royal family… The sultan in the throne, a tall, bulky man in traditional garb, who had just sent away another peasant with complaints, guffawed at the man's rushing.

"So the damned redhead shows his face! I was beginning to think that you had run off with a group of assassins and turned traitor! Bwahahaha!" The remaining peasants in the line looked between the sultan and Shanks in alarm, and Shanks merely rolled his eyes.

"Yes, because the life of an assassin is much better than palace life. Not to mention cold nights, blazing days, and no meat. Like hell, Jii-san."

"Ha! It never hurts to check! How're the boys holdin' up?" Shanks' face twitched in a fond smile. Even if it wasn't in his job description, he had, unofficially, been appointed caretaker of Garp's grandchildren, Luffy and Ace. There was a rebel group roaming about lately, and Garp had trusted the last of his bloodline to the foreigner to protect them from the group. However, they had been exposed when Ace had turned eighteen; old enough to send to be married. By then the brothers had been far too comfortable in Shanks' care than to be sent to be taken care of by their… _eccentric_ grandfather, and Ace had been declared worthy to be married away.

That was two years ago.

"Just fine. Luffy wanted me to tell you that he would appreciate some more quantities of the palace's meat (actually, what he shouted was 'More meat!' and jumped around like a damned monkey until I agreed to ask you), and Ace …" Here the man's face settled into a look of unease. "Ace… told me to tell you that they still refuse." Garp sighed loudly.

"Damn that brat, doesn't he know any better? I bet Luffy didn't even know what he was agreeing to!" Garp turned to the remaining peasants as he glanced over to the sundial on the nearby balcony.

"Eh, time's up. Come back tomorrow!" The peasants groaned and left, some giving Shanks a dirty look for wasting the time slot allowed for the seating. Shanks ignored them, he was used to such things. Garp stood once the people had left, coming to Shanks as the guards shut the enormous palace doors, leaving the two alone. Shanks dropped all formalities and glared at Garp openly.

"Look here, ossan. You can't just up and tell the boys that they need to be carted off to some kingdom to marry some strange princess! Ace has been sent back by _seven_ _princesses_ over the past two years; you'd think that that would tell you something!" Garp glared back at the man.

"It tells me that those two need to learn some respect for their beloved grandfather! Let's go visit them!" Shanks reached out his arm to bar Garp's way.

"Beloved Grandfather my ass! The only thing you do when you visit them is give them a solid punch on the head! Luffy's coming of age this year; can't you at least attempt to not screw him up too?" The two men stared each other down until Garp sighed, slumping his shoulders.

"I just want what's best for them. You know that." Shanks also sighed.

"I do too. Personally, I don't see why princes have to be sent away to marry like this. Even if he is seventeen, Luffy is…" Garp nodded in agreement as Shanks trailed off.

"He's not the brightest boy, is he? Bet he doesn't even know what he's expected to do with that damned princess that swoons all over him!"

"Yes, that princess from the Amazon Lily kingdom certainly is…" Shanks turned an interesting shade of red that oddly complimented his hair. He coughed slightly. "Never mind. The point is, what are you going to do with him? You can't send him to that cougar; she'd rip him apart!" Garp was silent for a long moment. Finally, he turned and began to walk down the hall, then paused and spoke without looking back.

"Reply to the request that Luffy accepts her… offer. And he will be in the Amazon Lily kingdom when he turns eighteen."

"You can't just send him to her! He'd never agree to such a-" Garp turned his head to look at Shanks, and Shanks was silenced by the twinkle in his eye.

"Course, it'd be kind of hard if the promised prince was… unavailable, eh Shanks? I was once promised to a girl a long time ago, despite not having any siblings to succeed as sultan. I escaped a bit, saw the world, and met a nice girl too! It'd be a blamed tragedy if such a thing ever happened to Luffy, wouldn't it? And the remaining prince would be forced to stay in East Blue to take his place, poor little sucker." Shanks' face slowly broke out into a grin as the though processed. He then cleared his throat and put on a stern face.

"Yes it would, Garp-san. It would be the most horrible tragedy this kingdom ever experienced; aside from your own disappearance. I'm sure there was quite a bit of an upheaval over that." Garp laughed as the two parted down two different halls.

"Are you mad? You never saw a happier kingdom than when I left! I guess when I came back they thought the world experience would make me a better person!" Shanks shook his head as he left down the hall that led to the Vizier's chambers on the other side of the palace.

"Don't know what baka told them that…"

* * *

Luffy sighed as he glanced over the fruits served on a silver platter. He groaned as he rolled over on his side, looking pitifully at the older boy next to him. Luffy was wearing the ever-popular vest, yet also wore baggy shorts and sandals; a tribute to his mentor and caretaker.

"Come on, Ace! Do I really have to eat it? It's not very tasty…" Ace sadly shook his head. He himself wore the traditional pants and shoes, with a jeweled dagger resting on his belt. However, he had ditched any upper-body wear long ago. He wore a fez, unlike his brother, who decided against headgear.

"You know what happens when you only eat meat; you get scurvy! Fruits and vegetable are the only way to prevent that! You don't want your teeth falling out, do you? You wouldn't be able to chew your meat!" Luffy's eyes went wide and he placed a hand over his mouth.

"No… meat?" Ace nodded solemnly, and the platter of fruits was gone the second he turned his back. Ace blinked at the clatter of metal and turned to see Luffy leaning back with a satisfied look on his face, patting his stomach.

"Yum, yum!" Ace stared at Luffy.

"You haven't stuffed all that food in your shorts again, have-"

"Gotta go Ace! Tell Shanks that I'm… notleavingthepalace!" Luffy ran down the hall and sped into the garden just outside the window of the boys' room. Ace shook his head as he watched Luffy begin the climb over the palace wall.

"I bet he doesn't even know I can see him right through the window every day. Idiot."

* * *

Luffy carefully made the descent into the alley behind the palace, patting down his shorts to be sure that the fruit was still in there. He glanced around cautiously, even if he didn't dress like the prince of East Blue, someone could see him climb over the wall anytime! He had to be careful. Seeing no one, he dashed down another alley. Almost twice he ran into guards, but luckily he was agile enough to evade them.

Finally he slipped down an old street and paused at the old wooden door in the wall, giving it two knocks. A small slot slid open only a few feet from the ground and Luffy had to bend down to look through. A small voice whispered

"Password?" Luffy grinned his monkey-faced grin as he laughed.

"Come on, Ninjin, you know me!" The only thing he could see in the slot was a short nod of purple hair.

"Close enough. Come on in!" The door was opened and Luffy slipped inside. The room was dark, save for a lone candle lit by the older boy of the group. The only thing Luffy could see of him was an abnormally long nose. A voice chuckled and then spoke.

"So you've returned, Luffy…" Another candle was lit, and a shadow scurried across the room to where yet another candle lit.

"The mysterious boy from 'No Where'…" A few more candles were lit by the shadows. Luffy looked around with wide eyes as the candles finally showed the entire room. The boy in front of him had dark, curly hair peeking out from a large, pressed-down fez. He was wearing baggy pants with patches in them, and the traditional pointed shoes. He wore a simple shirt; yet the oddest feature was the long nose that jutted out from his face. Luffy gave a whoop.

"That was amazing Usopp! How did-" Usopp slapped a hand over Luffy's mouth and looked around cautiously.

"Shush! Are you _trying_ to get us found? We aren't supposed to be here, you know!" Three kids peeked out from behind Usopp, then clambered around Luffy.

"Oi, Luffy! What do you have today?" One of the boys exclaimed. They were all dressed in simple vests and pants, the boy who had spoken had an orange fez with a shock of his purple hair sticking through the top, giving his head the odd appearance of a carrot. Another boy with a round face, despite the obvious lack of real nourishment, had his blonde hair done up similarly, making him seem like an onion. The boys tugged on Luffy's vest, and he almost toppled over, laughing.

"I got fruit today! Real fresh stuff, too!" The boys gave a whoop. However, the last boy with green hair stared up at Luffy almost sadly even as Luffy reached into his pockets and deposited the fruit.

"No meat today…?" Usopp whapped the boy on the back of his pepper-shaped head.

"Piman, show your manners! Luffy comes here everyday just to feed us with food that must have nearly cost his life to get! And you're worried about the meat?" Even with those words, Usopp looked at Luffy carefully. "But are you sure there isn't any meat…?" Luffy pouted.

"I wanted meat today, too. But then my Nii-san told me that unless I ate fruits, my teeth would fall out and I wouldn't be able to eat any meat!" The boys all gasped in horror, faces a perfect mirror of Luffy's own reaction to the information. Usopp nodded solemnly after recovering.

"It's true; there once was a man that searched his whole life for a place called Little Garden, the land where meat is endless in quantity! However, on the journey towards the place he was so excited about eating so much meat that he refused to eat any fruits! By the time he had gotten there… **He was unable to eat any of the meat!**" The kids and Luffy had been listening to Usopp's tale with wide eyes, and at the last sentence Usopp grabbed a nearby candle and held it under his face, giving him a ghoulish appearance. At the last sentence they immediately shoved their shares down their throats.

Usopp smiled fondly at the boys as he and Luffy sat down on an old bench, picking up his own share of the fruit. "So, Luffy, you gonna share with us the secret of such spoils?" Luffy blinked at him and tilted his head. Usopp sighed; Luffy may have been his best friend, but he wasn't all that bright.

"It means 'Where the hell do you get all the food without losing your hand?' I wouldn't mind meeting this 'Nisan' fellow…" Luffy laughed.

"No, he's _my_ Nii-san! Shanks always tells me that it means 'brother'!" Usopp nodded in understanding before he seemed to become confused.

"Shanks? As in Akagami Shanks, the caretaker of the hidden princes of East Blue?" The kids and Usopp were suddenly staring at Luffy with wide eyes. "How do you know him?" Luffy laughed nervously even as he edged towards the door.

"Know Shanks? I don't know Shanks! Don't know him at all! Hey, I'll try to bring some meat tomorrow, but I gotta go! Shanks is waiting for- I mean…" Luffy then dashed out the door and took off down the road like a bat out of hell. The boys blinked at his retreating figure before some key words sunk into their minds.

"Did he say he'd try to bring meat?"

* * *

BAM, there it is. Remember: **This is only going to feature the characters from the East Blue** (ignore the Hancock reference; it was only thrown in for some humor xP)

By the way, I know almost absolutely nothing about the Middle East, so I'm just kind of basing anything in here on the movie Aladdin. :PPP

Please review! I don't say that as some sort of catchphrase, either; I really like reviews!


	2. Cave of Wonders

I confess, I typed this chapter immediately after posting the last one. I figured that the prologue would maybe score a few hits; one or two reviews if I was lucky… **AND THEN I GOT SIX REVIEWS WITHIN TWENTY FOUR HOURS OF POSTING IT.** I was so happy and full of joy that I attempted a noodle dance, nearly snapping my spine in about five places. In recovery I went over this chapter and edited it, finishing it. Usually I'm averse to posting chapters so close between each other, but I _did_ say that I would type these chapters whenever the hell I wanted. AND YOU GUYS MADE ME WANT TO TYPE THIS WITH YOUR KIND REVIEWS~!!!

So this is only a little longer than the last chapter, unfortunately… But ten thousand word chapters are something that I work on especially for Horizons. Plus this seemed like an appropriate place to end it. The next one _might_ be longer.

Disclaimer! I do not own One Piece or Aladdin! I only mention Aladdin because they get the credit for the basic plot. This will deviate further and further as the story progresses, but for now I'm going _mostly_ along the same lines. The Cave of Wonders, for example. :D

* * *

"**Arabian nights**

'**Neath Arabian moons**

**A fool off his guard**

**Could fall and fall hard**

**Out there on the dunes"**

**~Bruce Adler**

The sun had very nearly risen by the time Luffy stole back over the wall of the palace, although with some reluctance. Life outside of the palace was great! There were market guards to run from, cats to chase, and so much out there (even if food was so much harder to get). Usually he spent the rest of his day with Usopp and the Vegetable Bandits (although nowadays they rarely had to steal their meals) but after the awkward confrontation, he had set out to the town on his own.

Admittedly, he wasn't nearly as good at running as Usopp, who had (in his own words) been running from guards since he could crawl. He had almost been caught twice, being actually snatched up and almost dragged to the prisons. While being a hidden prince meant that he could sneak out without anyone recognizing him, it also meant that he could get in huge trouble.

But if there was anything the sultan was good for in the princes' lives, it was his training. After so many years of his 'visits' (pounding the boys until they learned to pound back) Luffy had a strength that easily outmatched any guard, and he was able to quickly make his escape.

Luffy yawned loudly as he went up the staircase that led to the boys' room. He was looking forward to an all day nap…

… Shanks, however, had other plans. The man was sitting in the room, talking with Ace about something. Ace seemed strongly opposed.

"You can't do that to him, Shanks! He's still just a kid!"

"He'll be eighteen this year, Ace. You know what that means." Ace scowled at the man.

"So he'll do what I did! He'll live with it and-"

"He's already agreed to send Luffy to Amazon Lily." Ace was stunned into silence.

"You… sent the acceptance letter to _them_??" Shanks nodded slowly, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"The sultan had it just shipped off. Why are you so worried? If he goes, then you'll be 'forced' to stay behind and not be married! I thought that was what you wanted!" Luffy chose that time to walk in.

"Who's going where?" The two immediately stood, Shanks staring at Luffy.

"Luffy? What the hell happened to you?" Luffy blinked down at his apparel, which was covered in the dust from his brawls and sliced from the swords. He hadn't even noticed.

"Um… I fell down the stairs?" Shanks sadly shook his head.

"Guards again, eh Luffy? Haven't I taught you that the key to avoiding scimitar swings is-?"

"**You've been fighting with the market guards again?!**" Both Luffy and Shanks winced, turning slowly to Ace, who, for all intents and purposes, was positively ablaze with rage. Luffy smiled sheepishly.

"To be fair, they attacked me first!"

"**AND YOU WERE STEALING FROM THE MARKETS AGAIN?!?!?!**" This time Shanks turned to Luffy incredulously.

"What's wrong with you Luffy? You've got everything right here in the palace!" Luffy pouted.

"But I was only having my adventure! Usopp says that adventures are a true man's romance! Someday I'm going to have the greatest adventure in the world!" Shanks and Ace exchanged glances at those words. Ace sighed in resignation as Shanks chuckled slightly.

"Well then, I guess you _are_ ready!" Luffy tilted his head at the words.

"Ready for what?" Shanks looked at Luffy from under his straw hat, thinking about something. After another glance from Ace, he pulled off his hat and shoved it on the startled Luffy's head.

"Ready for the adventure of a lifetime."

* * *

There was a figure that approached the palace, a man that knew what he wanted in life. When he wanted to make his base in a little town near the coastline, he ravaged the citizens until they agreed to also fund his projects. When he wanted to take out the most famous kingdom in the country, he started a rebel group.

When he wanted to head for the palace in the final stage of his plan, he got a magic carpet.

No one, not even his men, knew where he had obtained the odd black and white carpet. It was alive in a sense, and he fondly referred to his ride as 'Mohmoo'. But that was another matter; now, he had a plan for taking over the palace.

During his travels, he had learned of a cave. A cave deep in the desert, where only the bravest or foolish attempted to go. For the Cave of Wonders was alive, and very choosey of those who entered it. Any who did not meet the requirement were instantly buried upon entering, never to be seen again. This the man had found out the hard way, when he had sent more than a few unlucky travelers to fetch the object of his desire.

After more metaphorical digging, he had found that the cave only accepted those of royal blood. And he thought it would be amusing if the hidden princes of East Blue were their kingdom's own downfall.

He patted Mohmoo as he sailed above the dunes, the palace finally coming in to sight.

The man wanted to get into that cave, which meant that he needed to have that prince. And Allah help anyone who got in his way.

* * *

Luffy pounded on the wooden door in the alley.

"Usopp! Usopp, open up!!" When no one answered, he slammed open the door. "Usopp! You won't believe… what…" Luffy slowly reached up to feel his new hat, staring with wide eyes at the scene before him. "No…"

The place was in shambles. Any reconstructed furniture was reduced to broken pieces of splintered wood, and tossed across the room. Luffy carefully picked his way through the rubbish, standing near a fallen table with wide eyes.

"G-Guys? This isn't funny! … Usopp? Piman? Ninjin? Tamenagi? Where are you?!"

"Luffy??" Luffy whirled and peeked under the table, grinning in relief at seeing the three boys staring back at him.

"Wow, you guys scared me so badly! I have to say, this is your best one yet! Hey, where's Usopp?? I gotta tell him something!" The boys merely stared at Luffy with wide, teary eyes. Luffy's grin slowly faded as he processed their faces. Ninjin sobbed as he spoke.

"They… they found us, and Usopp shoved us under the hidden trapdoor. They came and they took him and…" Luffy slowly crouched down to the boys' level and met their eyes seriously.

"Who took him?" They looked at him with wide eyes; Luffy was a fun, happy boy. For him to act so serious… Tamenagi sputtered as he spoke.

"The-The royal guards. They grabbed him and took everything, smashing everything that they didn't take, and then…" Piman continued as Tamenagi trailed off, eyes watering in terror.

"Then they stood in the middle of the room and said that they were going to behead Usopp in three days, and then they would find the rest of us." Luffy's eyes widened and he backed away slowly, shaking his head.

"Th-They can't do that! We've gotta stop them!" The boys stood and stared at Luffy as though he were crazy.

"Are you insane?? Even if you managed to get Usopp out of prison, you'd have to leave the city! You'd be hunted for the rest of your life!" Luffy placed a hand on his hat as he turned back towards the door.

"Then it's a good thing I was leaving anyway. You guys lay low. I can get Usopp out of jail, and then I'm leaving East Blue. I'm going to the seas." The boys stared at Luffy as he took off the straw hat and looked it over. "And then I'll come back and tell them my name, just like Shanks said. But he said that I had to find the ultimate adventure first, and then when I came back I would be ready!" The boys followed Luffy as he left out the door. When he had just reached the end of the alley, Piman called

"What do you mean by your name? Ready for what??" Luffy waved as he ran down the street, cupping his hands to his mouth and calling back

"Luffy D. Monkey, prince of East Blue! When I come back, I'm gonna be the sultan!"

* * *

The figure grinned a toothy grin from his perch on the palace wall. "Found you." He gave a silent motion to the carpet lazing next to him, and he was swooping down on the boy like a hawk in the next moment.

Luffy turned and blinked to see a large figure on a carpet flying down to him. He opened his mouth to shout something (most likely about how awesome the magic carpet was) but the man on top of the carpet instead snatched Luffy by the back of his vest, and then flew up and away into the desert.

Luffy's eyes widened when he noticed how high up he was. He blinked at the fact that the man was still holding him over the side of the carpet. Luffy tapped the large arm.

"Excuse me, ossan. But could I ride the mystery rug with you? I could die from the fall…" The man said nothing, but slammed Luffy down on the rug.

Luffy patted the rug, tracing the black and white patches. He looked around at the clouds for a moment but quickly grew bored.

"So, this is a cool mystery rug! Thanks for the ride to the ocean, ossan!" The man in front of him growled.

"It's a flying carpet, brat, not a 'mystery rug'. And I'm not giving you a ride, I'm kidnapping you!" Luffy blinked, tilting his head to the side. He then made a fist and slammed it into his open palm.

"So this is a mystery trip!" The man whirled around immediately, grabbing Luffy by his collar and shaking him back and forth.

"There is nothing _mysterious_ about me kidnapping the so-called prince of East Blue!! How the hell can someone like you be destined to run this kingdom?!" Luffy pouted, despite the man practically throttling him.

"Shanks said it's because my Nii-san isn't actually related to me; he was adopted! He's still considered a prince and has to marry some icky girl, but I'm the only defendant." The man stared at Luffy as though he had found a new species. Considering Luffy's intelligence, he probably did.

"That's _descendant_ you fool! Don't you realize what you're up against?!" The man tossed Luffy to the back of the rug and drew a long blade. The white blade was straight, unlike the traditional scimitars, and had jagged edges. Luffy blinked at it.

"What…?"

"Kiribachi; taken from the nose of a swordfish! If I stab you with this, you will slowly bleed to death in the most painful way possible; and I _will_ unless you get me what I need." Luffy was silent. Now that he had grasped the fact that the man was not a good person, he realized that he was in a very bad position. The man chuckled at his silence.

"Now that we've come to an understanding, Luffy D. Monkey, here's what you are going to do…"

* * *

The man finally brought the carpet down near some dunes. Luffy hopped off and looked around, but upon seeing nothing but desert for miles around rested a hand on his hat and turned to the man, confused.

"Say, ossan, where are we?" The man growled something as he rummaged through his pockets.

"What?"

"I said shut up, you damned spoiled brat!!" Finally he produced two golden halves of a scarab, and was about to put them together...

"Wow!! A gold beetle! Lemme see, lemme see!" After properly ensuring that Luffy's mouth was blocked off by a rolled-up rag, the man continued with the scarab.

The pieces went together with a small click and the scarab came to life with a flash, flying up and away. Luffy's eyes widened as the scarab plunged into a nearby dune.

And the dune came to life, rearing up in the shape of a tiger's head and glaring down at the two with blazing eyes.

"**Who disturbs my slumber?**" Luffy walked in front of the cave at a nod from the man, pulling out his gag.

"My name is Luffy D. Monkey, prince of East Blue." The cave narrowed its eyes down at Luffy before seeming to nod.

"**Proceed. Touch nothing but the lamp.** " And the mouth opened fully, revealing a long range of stairs. Luffy and the man were nearly blown back by the wind from the cave's breath, the man shouting over the wind.

"Remember, boy! If you do this, I'll not only rescue your friend and give you a ride to the ocean, but give you a ship as well! _Just bring me that lamp_!" Luffy gave a hard nod, and then slowly descended into the cave. The man chuckled a bit, and then guffawed, which eventually evolved into full out maniacal laughter.

"SHAHAHAHA!!"

* * *

Luffy carefully stepped down the stairs, looking around with almost a bored expression. The cave was filled from top to bottom with precious gems, silver and gold, and pretty much everything that he had seen in the palace treasury. He was certainly not interested in touching anything but the lamp; there wasn't a single edible around here!

Luffy looked at the bluish tint of the walls that he went through, then noted the odd, lava filled cavern waiting at the end. There were some odd, mushroom like stepping stones (one quick taste test proved them to be no more than rocks) that led up to the small pedestal at the top.

After climbing the steps and walking in front of the pedestal, he was most pleased to find the lamp he had been searching for.

It was a small, bronze object; barely about eight inches long, with an antique quality to the barely rusted surface. It looked worn, yet polished, and there was some odd text on the bottom that was faded beyond the point of reading. Not that Luffy would ever bother to read something he wasn't planning on keeping; he only had a couple of days before Usopp would be killed! He needed to get this lamp to the weird ossan, and fast!

Luffy turned and raced down the steps, idly noting a large ruby the size of his head being held by some sort of monkey off to the side. He would have laughed at the silly/creepy facial expression had he not been in such a hurry.

Just as he reached the room full of gold, his stomach gave a loud alert that his reserves were reaching 'Empty'. Luffy immediately collapsed, dropping the lamp and clutching his stomach.

"Food…" Luffy groaned as he pulled himself up. Just a little farther, and then he could ask for some meat from the guy for the trip to the palace dungeon! He reached over and grabbed the lamp again, this time shoving it in his large pocket, and then stiffened as he saw the pedestal that the lamp had been resting by.

On it was a large, purple, swirly fruit. Perhaps his 'Food Radar' had been malfunctioning the first time he walked through, perhaps he had taken some other route through the mountains of gold, but he was hungry, and there was food. Luffy reached up to the fruit, eyes wide and mouth drooling, completely forgetting the warning of the mystery cave.

Besides, if he didn't eat fruit regularly, he could get scurvy! And he didn't exactly want to try his hand at gumming any meat he may encounter.

* * *

The man growled to himself as he sat beside the hovering carpet. "What's taking that brat so long??" Suddenly the ground around him gave a large tremor, and the mouth of the cave in front of him gave a large roar of pain.

"**INFIDEL!!!**" The man's eyes widened and he quickly jumped on the carpet, racing towards the entrance as the cave continued.

"Shit!"

"**You have eaten the forbidden treasure! Now you will never again **_**see the light of day**_**!!**" The man looked down in the entrance in time to see Luffy clinging to the remaining steps of the entrance. Luffy looked up at the man with wide eyes.

"Help me up, ossan! Hurry!" The man only held out his hand, hovering just out of reach of the young prince.

"First give me the lamp, brat!" Luffy quickly shoved a hand into his pocket and reached up with the lamp...

... Which the man took and held up in his triumph. "SHAHAHA!! At long last, it's mine!" The man turned and grabbed Luffy, who was slowly climbing up the edge of the cave. He held up the boy by his collar, cackling.

"Don't think I've forgotten about your reward, boy..." The man carefully placed the lamp on the carpet beside him, and then slowly drew his swordfish sword from his side. He held it up to behead Luffy, who was watching him with wide eyes. "Your eternal reward!!"

Luffy watched the arc of the sword before his mentor's words came to him. "Remember what I taught you about evading scimitars!" Luffy decided that even if this wasn't a scimitar, the same rules would probably apply.

Grabbing the man's arm, Luffy swung himself and kicked the man under his chin, making him drop his sword. Luffy then released an arm and punched the man in the face as hard as he could.

Maybe it was the desert moon playing tricks on him, maybe it was the weird fruit he had eaten giving him hallucinations (it had certainly tasted bad enough) but Luffy would forever swear that his arm _stretched_, sailing past the man even as he fell back.

As it were, the man was sent tumbling into the back of the carpet, making it buck and send Luffy flying into the still-collapsing cave behind him.

No one noticed the lamp also fly off and after the boy. The man grinned a shark-like grin as he recovered from the blow just in time to see Luffy fall down the cave.

"SHAHAHA!! Tell the devil that Arlong, head of the rebel group sent you! Die knowing that you've just provided the key to conquering the East Blue!" Luffy only yelled as he fell towards the cavern floor hundreds of feet below, a large pile of rubble following and burying him down in the bottom of the cave. Arlong laughed maniacally as the cave gave a final roar, and then sank into the rest of the desert.

Arlong patted Mohmoo as he groped for where he thought the lamp to be.

"After so long, finally we can rule the country! Taking over East Blue, grand capital, is only the beginning! All we need to do is..." Arlong finally realized the loss of the lamp, calmly clearing his throat. "Mohmoo?"

The carpet paused in its flight, nodding its front in acknowledgement.

"Where _is_ the key to our success?" Mohmoo pointed with its black tassel to the dune that had previously been a mythical cave. Arlong howled with rage as he realized his mistake.

"**NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!**"

* * *

Yes, I made Luffy eat his devil fruit, because apparently devil fruits exist even in this AU. Why? Three reasons:

One: I do not have such an imagination that I can imagine Luffy fighting any bad guys without his stretchy powers. And vice-versa for the baddies. It's like some sort of blasphemy in my mind.

Two: Because Luffy was made a prince (and he doesn't care about money that much anyway) and he has no kleptomaniac monkey sidekick, Luffy has no reason to touch anything that isn't edible in the Cave of Wonders. A devil fruit is considered a treasure anyway, right? It could work… I think. xPPP

Three: Luffy doesn't have a magic carpet. Arlong does. How else would a kid survive such a fall in a cave, even after being buried by all that rubble, unless he was made of rubber? Carpet saved Aladdin in the movie, but Mohmoo (XD) has absolutely no loyalty to Luffy whatsoever. Plus it would be kind of pointless to make a fic about Luffy crossing the desert towards the seas if he could just ride a magic carpet the whole way. There's no adventure in that at all! And no nakama to be met…

BAM, my logic. Anyway, special thanks to NinjaFoodLover, NopeJustMe, bookishangel, kouriel, Kerykeion, and Jasmin Liertha for reviewing the first chapter!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THAT MEANS TO MEEEE~!!!

Please review, with sugar and sprinkles on top~! I also take flames, too. I'm a bit of a pyro. x333

Linhae, OUT.


	3. Genie of the Lamp

MUST… STOP… SPEWING OUT CHAPTERS… *posts this and runs off to work on next one* WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?! EVERY TIME I HEAR A SONG FROM ALADDIN I RACE TO THE COMPUTER AND TYPE UP ANOTHER CHAPTER!!! And my sister's on some Disney movie spree… Plus the songs from Aladdin get in your head and play themselves over and over and over and over and over and over and over… And over… TT

Oh well, there's nothing I can do about that curse. Except stop listening to my mp3 (I got the entire CD of Aladdin on my Go List D: ) and stop walking around the house when my sister's watching Disney movies… and stop thinking about anything large and blue… like the sky… I'm so screwed. Carry on and see the fruits of my suffering.

This chapter was tricky, I must say. Genie!Zoro is something that is a lot harder to write than he is to imagine… First you look at regular Zoro: Stubborn, superior, and short tempered. None of which exactly help the whole 'eternity of servitude' gig. So how would a guy like Zoro, the man who, upon first agreeing to join Luffy, threatened to split open his stomach if he got in the way of his dream, react to being crammed in a lamp and being forced to cater to every little whim of anyone who rubbed said lamp?

I don't know about you guys, but I would imagine violently and very, very grouchy. He'd probably go on a slaughtering spree if it weren't for the fact that genies couldn't kill. I still don't think I did a very good job, though…

Oh well, we'll call it circumstantial OOCness. It sounds better than 'Linhae screwed the poor readers' expectations'. Dx

Disclaimer!! I do not own One Piece or Aladdin. You know, most people take the One Piece _characters_ only and put them in a whole other world entirely. I've blended the _worlds_ of One Piece and Aladdin, and _then_ put in the characters. People probably have a good reason for not doing so, but I thought I'd try my hand at it.

* * *

"**Did you rub my lamp? Did you wake me up? Did you bring me here? And all of a sudden, you're walking out on me?? I don't think so, not right now! YOU'RE GETTIN' YOUR WISHES, SO **_**SIDDOWN**_**!!!"**

**~Genie**

Usopp shivered in the darkness, rubbing his arms in an attempt to dispel the cold. He had picked his way out of the chains long ago, but as far as escaping plans went he found his usually active mind completely dry. Something scurried over his foot in the dark, and Usopp let out a very girly shriek, standing up against the wall. He then slapped himself, muttering.

"Come on, Usopp! Pull yourself together! You're a brave warrior of the lands; and you are going to go out with dignity! Go out… beheaded…" Usopp began shaking, holding his neck with both hands. "Like… a man… tomorrow at sunrise…" Usopp nearly screamed again as a door slammed in the distance. He quickly returned to where he had been placed, snapping the restraints back with a flick of his long nose. He feigned sleep as footsteps echoed in the dungeon, coming closer…

"But sire! He's a criminal; the leader of the notorious Vegetable Bandits that have been plaguing the markets for five years!" Usopp nearly lost his cool as a voice sounded from the door of the dungeon. Another voice, much closer to him, answered as the footsteps paused for a second.

"I know exactly who he is. Do not tell the sultan of this; the old fart has enough to worry about." Usopp flinched as he felt something begin to poke his face. The voice seemed amused as he pretended to play dead.

"I know you're awake." Usopp grudgingly opened his eyes, and then stiffened when he got a good look at his visitor.

The prince of East Blue, Ace D. Portgas, was standing in front of him and holding a small key in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other. Everyone knew who he was, the prince that would parade down the streets with a sour look and thousands of gifts for the princess he would attempt to impress and then return with a smug smirk. It was the other prince, his brother, which was a mystery to the kingdom. The man in front of him jammed the bread under his arm as he kneeled beside Usopp.

"Now hold still…" Usopp's restraints came off with a click, and Usopp rubbed his wrists like he hadn't been imprisoned for only half a minute, staring at him. Ace then stood and brushed the dust off of his pants, holding out the loaf.

"Here. I thought you might be hungry." Usopp said nothing as he took the bread, eyes wide. He then looked at the bread carefully; was he trying to poison him? The prince laughed at the suspicious look on Usopp's face.

"It's not poisoned; that'd be considered ungrateful to the man that is Luffy's only best friend." Usopp nearly dropped the bread at the name.

"Luffy?? You guys caught him too??" Ace seemed genuinely surprised at the question.

"Caught him? What the hell are you talking about? Why would they capture my own brother?" Usopp choked on the bite of bread he had taken and the man sadly shook his head. "Luffy never told you his full name, did he? Luffy D. Monkey, crown prince of the East Blue kingdom. He would often tell Shanks and I about you, an adventurer named Usopp. Not to mention sneak out every day with the palace's food."

"Prince??" Ace carefully patted Usopp's back as he attempted to swallow the food.

"Easy there, easy. I'm not surprised he didn't tell you. Luffy never did care for being a prince, anyway."

"B-But…"

"You know, you aren't half bad! I'll admit I was worried when Luffy told me about you, but…"

"Where's Luffy?" Ace stopped short at Usopp's question. Ace sighed, standing up and walking to the other side of the room. He looked back at Usopp.

"Did they mention why they arrested you?" Usopp shook his head.

"I just assumed it was because they were after my head. I am, after all, a brave and daring warrior of the lands!" Ace sadly shook his head.

"The sultan was told of someone seeing a kid sneak over the palace wall and into a dark alley. When he sent a man to investigate, he saw Luffy and you, a notorious bandit, in the same room. The man was a palace worker, and recognized Luffy. He put two and two together and told everyone that Luffy had been kidnapped. The public went clambering for your arrest ever since; and I can't pardon you because of them. When they captured you and couldn't find Luffy… Unless someone is executed, or unless I can prove that you didn't murder the last descendant of the sultan, there's the threat of the palace having a bad name in how they treat crime. In times like these, even that is enough to start a revolt." Usopp's eyes widened.

"But I would never do that! Even if Luffy wasn't my friend, I'd never even _think_ of such a thing! But…" Usopp chuckled slightly as a thought occurred to him. "But that's not a problem at all, right? Luffy can just show up and tell them that I… didn't…" Usopp trailed off at the look on Ace's face. He swallowed noisily, thoughts of the beheading entering his mind again.

"Where _is_ Luffy, anyway…?"

* * *

Luffy moaned as he woke up. Not opening his eyes, he attempted to sit up, stiffening when he found that he was stuck. He quickly wriggled his arms and legs, assuring himself that he was not, in fact, missing anything important.

Even if he was all in one piece, he was still stuck. Luffy opened his eyes and would have rubbed his eyes at what he saw. As it were, he could only blink rapidly at the sight of nothing at all. He then realized the problem, and slammed his head upward at what seemed to be a low ceiling.

The rock that was just above his head crumbled, sending the other rocks around him tumbling down and completely freeing his arms. His legs were still stuck, though, but Luffy only had eyes for his surroundings.

He was in a very large, very deep hole. There was nothing but rock and sand all around; not a hint of the vast treasures that once stood there. And lying about five feet away was his hat and the lamp. Luffy blinked at the lamp.

"Oi, didn't the ossan take you?" The lamp did not reply. "This is a weird mystery cave." No input came forth from the inanimate object. Not that Luffy was really expecting any. Luffy looked back and hmphed.

"Stupid rocks. Not letting me go. I need to get my hat, you know!" He yelled at the rocks, which, like the lamp, did not reply. Luffy would have crushed the rocks like he had with his head, but he would have crushed his own legs in the process. And he was lying on his stomach, making it impossible for him to twist around and pick them up.

So he instead settle for attempting to wriggle out, but settled back with another 'hmph' at his failure. He looked at the hat laying behind the lamp, then decided to give it a shot.

So he threw out his arm as far as it would go, and then watched with wide eyes as it reached all the way to the other side of the cave before he reflexively snatched it back.

"**NANIIIII?!?!**" On the arm's way back, it hooked around his hat and briefly rubbed against the lamp before sending both objects flying, then slamming back into Luffy and sending him backwards right through the rocks that were previously smashing his legs. Luffy groaned from against the wall, not noticing the lamp on the other side of the cave glow and squirm, before a few sparks zipped out the spout. Luffy stared at his hand, wiggling his fingers a few times.

"How did…??" Then Luffy noticed the lamp doing an odd little dance on the other side, and he watched it with wide eyes. The lamp suddenly began spewing an odd, green smoke, which took up the entire ceiling of the cave and began forming into an odd, humanoid figure.

Luffy stared up with large eyes that defied all facial structure, before "SUGEIIIII~!!!!"

* * *

"… The Amazon Lily princess?? Luffy was going to be married to _her_??" Ace nodded his head. "And I thought Luffy wasn't into that kind of thing…" Ace laughed slightly.

"Nah, it's an _arranged_ marriage. That lady absolutely adores Luffy, but he didn't give a damn for her." Usopp slowly shook his head in disbelief.

"It's no wonder he left, but…" Usopp looked up at Ace with a trembling lip. "What's going to happen to me?" Ace sighed, clapping a hand on Usopp's shoulder.

"I can't do anything, Usopp. I told you that this kingdom… that this _country's_ on shaky ground. For the prince to ask to pardon the bandit who everyone believes murdered his brother is the last thing I can do." Usopp looked down for a second, then sighed.

"I see…" He began in an odd voice, then turned and looked away sadly. "But… if I really don't make it… Would you take care of the kids?" Ace quirked an eyebrow.

"Kids? You mean to tell me that the infamous Vegetable Bandits are only kids?" Usopp nodded, still looking away.

"I found them when they were only four; they were orphans, like me. I taught them how to get their own food, and we made ourselves into a sort of family. I'm not sure if they're still out there but…" Usopp looked up with watery eyes, startling Ace. "Could you find them and give them a real home with a real family? As a man's final request?" Ace was silent for a minute, then he slowly nodded with a growing smile.

"Yeah, I think I know a good place for them. I think they'll be pretty happy there." Ace stood and began walking back to the dungeon door, then called back "And don't give up hope yet; Luffy always has an uncanny ability to appear when people need him the most. Take it from someone who knows."

* * *

The green giant stared down at Luffy with narrowed, sleepy eyes; like a shark. Luffy stared right back, not even flinching as the giant head bent down to look him over critically, and then stretched with a yawn. He was very, very large, entire body a light shade of green that almost seemed edible to Luffy. Muscular, but not overly buff, he had odd matching green hair on top of his head and three golden earrings in his left pointed ear. On both of his wrists there were golden cuffs. There was an odd green waistband that signaled the end of his body, and trailed off into a wispy green tail that came from the lamp itself.

"… Mister mystery giant, why do you have a tail?" The green man glared down at Luffy with disdain, replying in a deep, echoed voice.

"Just make your wishes so that I can go back to sleep." Luffy blinked and tilted his head in confusion.

"Eh?" The man rolled his eyes.

"Look kid, it's relatively simple. A sultan comes into the cave to retrieve the lamp in emergency times; they rub it, make their three wishes, and then leave me alone. Now what do you want? Is some neighboring country starting a war? Is your kingdom experiencing a famine? Hurry up; this is cutting into my nap." Luffy surprised the man by laughing.

"You're so funny! So how did you get that tail??" He began poking said tail as he spoke, and the man snatched up his tail from the lamp as he snapped back

"Are you an idiot or something?? Just make your damned wishes!!" Luffy blinked.

"Wishes?" The man snarled at him from the ceiling, holding his tail out of reach still.

"Do I have to sing and dance it?? I'm a _genie_. I grant three _wishes_. Then I go back to my lamp and rot for all eternity!" Luffy blinked and picked up the lamp, inspecting it.

"… That's kind of small."

"And it cramps like hell, too. Just make the wishes."

"… So where did you get the tail, mystery giant?" The giant slapped his forehead before exploding in a cloud of green smoke. Luffy coughed before looking around with wide eyes.

"GAH!! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you explode!!"

"Tch, idiot. Are you really the ruler of a kingdom?" Luffy started at the normal voice as a human man walked out of the dissipating green smoke, walking in front of Luffy. He was only slightly taller than Luffy, with the same hair, cuffs and earrings as the giant, but his eyes were grey. He was wearing dark green pants and dark green common shoes and a simple yellow vest with the same waistband with three odd swords attached to it. Luffy blinked at him before pointing to the swords.

"Hey! I know what kind of swords those are! Shanks said that they were called katana!" The man seemed fairly surprised.

"Hmph, not so much of an idiot after all, are you? Didn't think anyone in this country knew that." Luffy shrugged

"Shanks is from another country, and he told me lots of stories about it. But wait, where did the mystery giant go??" The man sighed, walking over to Luffy and snatching the lamp from his grasp and inspecting it.

"I take that back; you're a hopeless idiot. Do you really only recognize people by their tails?" As he spoke, his legs faded into the same green, wispy tail of the genie, and Luffy's eyes widened.

"Sugei!! A tail! So _you're_ the mystery giant! How did you get all little like that??" The man shoved the lamp back in Luffy's hands, growling to himself as he stalked around with his legs returned, inspecting the cave.

"Of all the damned idiots to work for, it had to be one that probably only came in here for a look around. Really made a mess of the place, too. At least the past sultans had their wishes already thought of…" Luffy blinked as he remembered something.

"Oh yeah, you asked if I was a ruler or something! Nah, I'm not. _Yet_." Luffy emphasized the 'yet.' The man blinked at him.

"The sultan sent a prince for his wishes?"

"It was this weird ossan who said that if I found the lamp for him, he'd help me save my friend. Oh, that's right!! Usopp!!" Luffy turned to the man with wide eyes. "I gotta save Usopp! He's gonna be killed in… When does the sun rise tomorrow?" The man disappeared in a small puff, then reappeared a second later.

"It'll be sunrise in about an hour." Luffy began panicking and running around, paused for a moment to dust off his hat and place it on his head, then began running around in more circles. The man watched in barely contained irritation, brow twitching.

"USOPP'S GONNA DIEEEEEE~!!!!! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!" The man coughed not so subtly.

"Genie, fool. I'm a genie!" Luffy blinked.

"Oh yeah, you can grant wishes, right? Can you get us back to the East Blue palace?" The man nodded.

"Is that a wish?" Luffy nodded so hard his hat almost flew off his head.

"Yep! I wish we were at the East Blue palace!"

* * *

Usopp trembled as he watched the sky begin to go gray out the lone window of the dungeon. That was it, wasn't it? No miraculous appearances by Luffy; he was really going to die.

Usopp slumped back against the wall with a sigh. At least the trio was taken care of, right? Usopp could trust the prince to keep his word; he was related to Luffy!

**But they're adopted brothers, remember?** Usopp's more pessimistic side whispered. He growled at himself.

"Shut up."

**He's most likely going to find them and execute them for being notorious thieves.**

"He said that he'd find good homes and families for them!"

**He could just as easily lie.**

"He didn't lie, and that's final! He promised that he would, and I trust him!"

"Trust who, Usopp?" Usopp scowled at himself; his inner voice just got a lot louder and more Luffy-like.

"You know very well who! Ace! I can trust him, always!"

"Ohhh, you mean Nii-san? Yeah, I trust him with my life!" Usopp nodded with conviction.

"That's right! And no amount of-EYAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Usopp shrieked as Luffy leaped from the window right in front of Usopp. Luffy gave a wave with his grin firmly fixed on his face.

"Yo."

"**DON'T 'YO' ME, WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM?!?!**" Luffy blinked as Usopp shook in terror.

"There was this mystery giant, and-" He was cut off by Usopp suddenly grabbing him and hugging him tightly.

"Shit, Luffy! It doesn't matter where you came from; I'm saved! I'm saved!!" Luffy blinked and pried off Usopp.

"Yeah! I came to save you! How did you get caught?" Usopp scowled slightly.

"Someone saw you sneak from the palace and followed you to our hideout, Mr. Luffy D. Monkey!" Luffy laughed nervously.

"I didn't mention that I was the prince, did I…?" Usopp shook his head.

"Not now, later! They're gonna come for me any second now, so you need to go and tell them that I didn't-"

"I can't."

"… Eh?"

"I can't go back until I keep my promise." Usopp sighed as he began to push Luffy towards the door.

"Ace told me all about that, but this is an emergency! They're gonna kill me the second you leave the city, and-"

"I came to ask you to come with me!" Usopp paused, turning and staring at Luffy incredulously.

"E-Eh??" Luffy grinned, throwing an arm around Usopp.

"I'm gonna go the seas, and I want you to come with me! We can have those adventures you always talk about, and we can be nakama!" Usopp was so startled by Luffy's words he allowed him to drag him back to the window.

"Nakama?"

"Shanks said that it means closest friend or family member! You're my best friend, Usopp! Let's go to the sea, and we can have the ultimate adventure together! We can get a ship, and a crew…" Usopp stared with a far off expression as he thought.

"A real adventure, eh…?" Usopp suddenly shook himself. "But see here, Luffy! You'll have to come back to the palace eventually, and what'll I do then?" Luffy blinked at him.

"Why, you'd come with me, of course! And Piman, Tamenagi, and Ninjin too! I saw them earlier, too; they were with Shanks in the palace!" Usopp's eyes widened.

"They were?? And…" Luffy grinned.

"Yeah! I tried that spy thing you taught me, and it turns out that Shanks is adopting them! Isn't that great, Usopp?? They'll have all the meat they could want!" Usopp almost collapsed in relief. Ace had really kept his promise… "… And so you can come with me, and they'll be taken care of! Come on, Usopp; what do you say??" Usopp looked at the offered hand before grabbing it and shaking it firmly.

"You've got yourself some nakama, Luffy!" Luffy grinned, not releasing Usopp's hand. Usopp gave a small tug in confusion. "Luffy…?" Then he noticed that Luffy's other hand was holding a rope that was dangling from the window. Luffy gave a tug…

… And then the two were speeding towards the window at a rapid speed, Luffy nearly losing his hat.

"YAHOO!!!"

"GAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!"

* * *

The green-haired man pulled up the rope with a slight scowl on his face; how had he been reduced to this?? From being trapped as a royal heirloom to…

The boys came up and crashed down just outside the window of the dungeon, coughing. Luffy immediately stood with a whoop. "That was so cool! Let's do that again!!"

… Monkey-minder. He'd been reduced to a monkey-minder, and the monkey was the one holding the damned leash. Usopp jumped up from his position and slammed Luffy in the back of his head.

"WE ARE NOT DOING THAT AGAIN!!! GIVE ME SOME WARNING NEXT TIME!!" Luffy pouted from his position on the ground, then rubbed his head oddly.

"… Eh? It didn't hurt…?" The man sighed, and Usopp just seemed to notice his presence, immediately intimidated by the man's fierce scowl and three swords.

"L-Luffy… I think one of the guards found us…!!" Luffy blinked as he followed Usopp's gaze. He laughed.

"Nah, that's just the mystery giant I told you about! He's…" Luffy suddenly trailed off with a bewildered expression. "What _is_ your name anyway? I can't call you a mystery giant anymore…"

"… Zoro. Roronoa Zoro." Luffy pounded a fist into his palm.

"Oh! You have the same backwards name like Shanks! Cool! Well, Zoro, this is Usopp, and I'm Luffy! Nice to meet you!" Luffy held out a hand for him to shake, but Zoro simply growled and turned the other direction. Luffy blinked. "Okay then, see you!" Luffy turned and walked away in the direction of the desert then, Usopp following.

They had only been walking for about twenty seconds when Usopp tugged on Luffy's vest. "Oi, Luffy… That guy's following us…" Luffy blinked and turned to see Zoro walking right behind him, same scowl on his face. Luffy blinked.

"What's up, Zoro? Do you want to be our nakama too?" If anything, Zoro's scowl only increased.

"No."

"Then you gotta stop following us! The town's in the other direction!"

"I said I didn't _want_ to, but I have to! Idiot! You still have two wishes left!" Luffy blinked before shrugging and turning back.

"No thank you; I saved Usopp, and now we're going to have an adventure!" Zoro grabbed Luffy by the back of the vest and began shaking him, making Usopp yelp and grab Luffy's arm.

"You have as much of a choice as I do, you dumbass!! I'm stuck with you as long as you still have two wishes left or if someone else rubs that lamp! Hell, I'll even spell it out for you! Just wish to be at the sea, wish for a ship, and then let me return to my lamp in peace!!" Usopp was stuttering at something, ignoring Zoro's rant.

"L-Luffy…?!" Luffy ignored him, turning to scowl at Zoro.

"There's no adventure in that! I promised Shanks that I would have the adventure of a lifetime, and I can't do that if I rely on wishes! We're gonna have a _real_ adventure, and if you don't like it then you can just leave!"

"Luffy!!" Luffy blinked and turned to Usopp, then gained a comically annoyed expression.

"Usopp, what are you doing with my arm? It's not supposed to do that!" Usopp was standing about ten feet away, still holding Luffy's arm with a wide-eyed look on his face. Luffy stared at Usopp with the same annoyed expression on his face before the pieces came together with a small click. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH MY ARM?!?!?!?!"

Zoro watched the two panic as he rubbed his head, feeling as though he had unwillingly signed his own death warrant the second Luffy rubbed his lamp.

"This is going to be a long two wishes…"

* * *

"Devil fruit?" Zoro nodded. Luffy and Usopp were sitting in front of Zoro like two students, looking up at him with wide eyes. Luffy blinked.

"So… my arm stretches?"

"All of you stretches! Arms, legs, head…" Usopp blinked.

"So what happens if I do this?" Usopp grabbed Luffy's cheek and tugged, stretching it a good two feet. Usopp pulled it in amazement and then released, watching it snap back. "Wow, it really does work!"

"Like that's a good thing…" Luffy stared up at Zoro.

"It isn't?" Zoro scowled.

"No, it isn't! This is most likely the worst possible country for a Gomu Gomu fruit user! You're now entirely made of rubber! That means you'll only be hurt by sharp objects, and everyone here uses swords and daggers! You'll melt in extreme heat, and the desert is a miles-wide oven! And you'll be weakened by any body of water that you'll eventually need to find and drown! You've screwed yourself over in your own country; didn't the cave warn you not to touch anything but the lamp??" Luffy thought a moment, then slowly nodded.

"It did say something about that…" Usopp blinked.

"What cave?" Luffy turned to Usopp.

"There was this weird ossan with a mystery rug that flew! He took me to this cave and told me that if I got this weird lamp for him, he'd help me rescue you. But… He lied and tried to kill me with this weird sword and stole the lamp. But then he dropped it in the cave with me, and that's when Zoro appeared! He was a lot bigger then… And he had a tail." Usopp stared at Luffy for a full five seconds before sadly shaking his head.

"Luffy, leave the storytelling to me. Or at least come up with something a little more believable." Luffy frowned.

"But it's true! Right Zoro?"

"Like hell if I know. I was only there when you rubbed my lamp." Luffy blinked.

"Your lamp? That lamp was yours?" Luffy tugged it out of his pocket and stared at it oddly. "It doesn't have your name on it…" Usopp blinked and looked at the lamp.

"So _that's_ why Zoro keeps following us! You've got his lamp, Luffy! He only wants it back." Luffy blinked.

"Ohhh, why didn't you say so, Zoro? Here you go!" Zoro began to twitch as Luffy attempted to hand him the lamp. He scowled and snatched the lamp, then grabbed the front of Luffy's vest.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! I can't leave even if I took my lamp with me!!" In demonstration, Zoro turned and tried running in the opposite direction. He only got about ten yards away…

… Before the gold cuffs on his wrists began glowing and sparking, and they zapped Zoro with electricity. Zoro yelled from the pain and immediately jumped back into Luffy's vicinity. Luffy and Usopp watched with wide eyes as Zoro made his way back to them. Usopp stuttered.

"Does that… hurt?" Zoro only gave a gruff nod. Luffy only stared oddly at Zoro as he shoved the lamp back in Luffy's hands.

"Why would the lamp hurt you like that?" Zoro growled.

"Isn't it obvious, fool? I'm trapped; a damned prisoner of my own mistake." Usopp blinked.

"Prisoner? Can't you just get the cuffs off and be free?" Zoro stared at Usopp as though he were crazy. He then slowly drew the katana with the white sheath, making Usopp yelp and cower behind Luffy. Instead, though, Zoro held the katana over his wrist, stretching out his arm. He gave it a slice, a large cut appearing in the cuff before glowing slightly and returning back to its original form.

"I can't cut them off." Zoro sheathed the sword and held his hand under the same outstretched cuff, and the boys jumped as a flame sprang up and heated the cuff to a glowing red color, dripping molten gold. Zoro then tried to wipe off the cuff but the second his hand stopped producing the flame, it returned to its normal temperature.

"I can't melt them off. I can't do a damned thing about them; if I could I would have done it a long time ago. I've been stuck as a genie for over a thousand years, and I'll most likely be a genie for all eternity!" Usopp stared at Luffy, and then turned back to Zoro.

"You found a _genie_??" Usopp looked oddly at Zoro, who glared back. Usopp was instantly back behind Luffy, who was staring at Zoro with an odd expression.

"You didn't want to be a genie? Why are you then?" Zoro seemed stunned at the question before he simply scowled and began sinking back into the lamp in Luffy's hand. His voice trailed out of the lamp as Luffy and Usopp exchanged a glance.

"It's what happens when you wish for the ultimate power."

* * *

Arlong stormed through the gates of his mini palace, scowling. The men inside gave a start at the entrance, but then shrank back when they processed the displeased look on Arlong's face. They may follow Arlong as his most loyal followers, but only out of respect…

Well, fear and respect…

Well, fear. Arlong sank himself into the large throne in the middle of the palace, rubbing his sore chin.

For a spoiled brat prince with the attention span of a camel, he had an admirable punch, Arlong thought to himself. He unstrapped his sword and placed it by his side as two of his head followers came up to his throne. The first was a man with a large, red nose. In Arlong's travels, he had pulled him from a traveling circus somewhere in the east. He never had the opportunity to see the circus himself, seeing how the lone clown was the one that slaughtered the entire crew and audience in his final performance.

The second man was an ex-pirate from a country in the west, with glasses that always slipped (no one in this country knew of the devices, and he was unable to get fitting replacements) and the weirdest swords anyone had ever seen that fit on his fingers. He was in the midst of his arrest when he had killed his entire crew, joining Arlong after only a few words were exchanged.

The red nosed man smirked as the saw the scowl on Arlong's face. "So, oh great and mighty Arlong, where's the precious treasure you went to get?" The man next to him sighed.

"Now, now, Buggy; perhaps it's best if you shut your ridiculously large trap at the moment; can't you see that Arlong is upset?" Buggy snarled at him.

"Who has a ridiculously large nose, Kuro?? Damned pussycat!!" Kuro's eyes flashed behind his glasses as he slowly reached up to palm them back into place.

"Watch your words, circus freak. One would hate for you to lose a limb or two… _again_."

"So it _was_ you, you flashy bastard! Do you realize how long I had to search for my-"

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, calm yourselves." The two paused and turned back to Arlong, who was watching them with a much more pleasant face. This probably meant that he was plotting something very, very nasty. "No, Buggy, I did not retrieve the lamp. But there is still a way for us to-"

"Ha! I told you that you couldn't pull it off you fish-loving idiot!" In an instant a dagger-sized object sailed right through Buggy's chest. Buggy split his midsection in half as the object embedded itself into the sand behind him. Kuro picked up the object and handed it back to Arlong, shaking his head, face a perfect picture of a great tragedy.

"If only that would work properly…" The object in question was a large, white tooth with a small handle carved into the end of it. It was one of Arlong's favorite weapons along with Kiribachi, darts carved from the teeth of a great white shark. Buggy put himself back together with an indignant yell.

"What the hell, Arlong?! Are you trying to kill me?!?!" Arlong gave a small chuckle.

"Relax Buggy, I knew it wouldn't work. You should consider yourself grateful that I allowed you in my company and gave you your devil fruit; even with your trademark ungratefulness I still gave you a high position and your own men." Buggy still growled at Arlong.

"I'm only doing this because you promised me I could have all the treasure when you became the ruler of this damned country! What the hell do you see in here, anyway?? It's too hot! Although there _is_ a nice variety of treasure…" Arlong slowly shook his head.

"The reasons are far beyond your grasp. Only know that I am working as hard as I can. I expect the same of you." Buggy waved a hand nonchalantly.

"Of course, of course. Now then, I'm off to Orange Village; I hear that there's a special treasure there…" He turned and walked out the gate, and Kuro sadly shook his head.

"As much as I trust your judgment, Arlong, are you sure it's wise to allow that man to have so much freedom?" Arlong said nothing in reply and Kuro simply sighed and walked away. Arlong watched Buggy and his men mount their horses and ride off into the setting sun, rubbing his chin again. A voice called from the gates.

"He's right you know, even if he is somewhat paranoid." Arlong looked up at the small figure that appeared at the gates. An orange-haired girl, about eighteen, was standing in a harem costume with a large sack slung over her shoulder. Arlong raised an eyebrow at her attire.

"Have a successful run, Nami?" Nami grinned wickedly.

"Poor fools never saw it coming. One of my easiest hits yet." Arlong laughed.

"Shahahaha!! That's my little thief! And the map…?" Nami reached into the sack and drew out a slip of papyrus.

"Marked along with the proper words~!" Arlong nodded in approval.

"That's good, my dear. But there's something I want you to do…" Nami quirked an eyebrow as Arlong indicated the direction that Buggy had disappeared to.

"I've kept my end of the deal, Arlong. Babysitting clowns isn't part of it." Arlong nodded in understanding.

"This is still a treasure run. Buggy ran off to Orange Village, and I need you to… confiscate anything he may find. He'll most likely run off should he find a big enough haul." Nami's eyes glittered.

"I'll need a bigger sack, then…"

"But of course! Now run along, and don't be too long!" Nami tossed her head back and laughed.

"As if I would ever do such a thing!" After depositing her sack in her room, Nami walked outside to the nearby stables, where a long row of horses was tethered. Nami walked down to the end and instead untied a large camel, climbing onto its back with a pat on the head.

"Come, Eyelashes." The camel gave a nod and began plodding after the horse tracks left by Buggy. Once out of sight of the base, Nami looked back with a fierce scowl that she would never dare to show in Arlong's presence.

"Someday, Arlong. Someday we'll all be free." Nami clicked her tongue at Eyelashes and he trotted off into the night.

* * *

Yes, I lied when I said that there would only be East Blue characters in this fic. You guys understand that I just _had_ to include Eyelashes, right? :DDD *gets bricked*

And Genie!Zoro actually has a past! He isn't just some random manifestation of amazing marimo kickass powers! Weird, right?? Usopp, Zoro, and Nami went _completely_ out of order here, and I sincerely apologize. Nami will come before Sanji though, rest assured.

On the note of Nami and Arlong, it's still the relatively same principal. Sort of. More like Nami being a treasure hunter for Arlong, finding all those weird caves that open with the magic words guarded by bandits and such, and then keeping a small portion of said treasure in her sack. The deal's a bit screwed though, and I'll reveal it later.

I still don't like this Genie!Zoro, though… Argh. But Luffy has used up his first wish! It was a little hard to think of what Luffy would wish for when I first planned this story, because making Luffy a prince pretty much gives him everything he could ever want (and he doesn't like getting things the easy way, anyway) but a friend in need seems a feasible reason for Luffy to use a wish.

And Luffy only uses Japanese words and such because he hung around Shanks so much. Zoro happens to be from the same country as Shanks because he has

A: his katana, and that's something I don't want to mess with.

B: That _name_. Zoro Roronoa just doesn't seem right to me, and Oda-sensei _did_ say that Zoro would be from Japan anyway.

C: It ties into his past. Go me. ;o;

Again, BAM, my logic. Amazing, isn't it? :PPP I hope that I haven't disappointed you guys _too_ much… I need to get cracking on my research paper and Horizons. Although this story is highly addicting… I'm starting to really enjoy this whole AU gig. Maybe I can keep writing these as I work on Horizons and after I finish this story… They'd probably all be the same principal of only East Blue, though. No promises.

Special thanks to bookishangel, eternitybeckons, Jasmin Liertha, NinjaFoodLover, and kouriel for their inspiring reviews! You guys rock!! … I've just realized that no one really says people 'rock' in my school anymore… Why not?!

Another note: I've screwed a bit with the rules of the genie. It'll still have the three basic rules, but I've put a limiting factor on any freebie magic that a genie can do. Like when Genie in Aladdin would randomly make stuff appear for no reason, or would transform the characters without them saying anything (like giving Aladdin super strength in the song, or making Aladdin float to places) Because not only would Zoro never do something like that, but I need to put some rules on him to make the adventure a lot less easy for them.

Freebie magic is great and all, but it doesn't exactly work out for this story. Like if they were all hungry and wandering through the desert and lost, the Genie from the movie could just poof up some food and a map or something without Aladdin using up a single wish. THAT WOULD BE CHEATING, ZORO. NO MAGICS FOR YOU.

**Next time in Arabian Nights: The adventure begins! A little bonding time between the grouchy-ass genie, the self-proclaimed infamous bandit, the runaway prince, and a little thing called 'wandering the desert without any food or direction'… And then being carried off by a giant bird. Also known as the most excitement Zoro's had in centuries.**

… I already have half of the next chapter written out… So you can probably expect that kind of soon. And I still need to finish my research paper before I go camping this weekend… I'm gonna die~!!


	4. Bonds, Birds, and Bandits

That's it! That is _it_!! I'm not doing any more chapters before this weekend! And then I'm going camping in _peace_! *Story looks up with large puppy-dog eyes* …

I just read chapter 583 of One Piece (did it come out early, or is it just me?) and WOW LUFFY SUCKS AT LYING!! xDDD God I love that kid. Only he would call someone their friend after they tried to kill him… multiple times, might I add. It's probably why he's all buddy-buddy with Robin, Franky, Vivi, Bon Clay, Hancock, Buggy, almost everyone he met… :I

Luffy has issues. The people he's closest with want to kill him the instant they meet him. THAT'S NOT NORMAL.

I do not own One Piece or Aladdin. BAM, there it is.

* * *

"**It's all part-and-parcel, the whole genie gig. Phenomenal cosmic powers; itty bitty living space."**

**~Genie**

"… Usopp…?"

"Yes Luffy?"

"… I'm hungry."

"Me too." The two boys were walking through the desert, nothing but dunes as far as the eye could see. Zoro hadn't been lying when he stated that the desert was like a miles-wide oven, and they could practically feel the temperature increase as the sun rose higher and higher. Now though, it was starting to go back towards the horizon. Luffy groaned as he held his stomach.

"I'm bored, too! There's nothing to do out here!" Usopp nodded in agreement. While used to the heat of the desert, trudging along with nothing to do and no specific direction was a real pain. Speaking of directions…

"Oi, Luffy. Where are we going?" Luffy thought a moment.

"I dunno."

"EH?!?! You mean we've been wandering around with no place in mind this whole time??"

"Yep."

"Doesn't that bother you??"

"Nope." Usopp slapped his forehead.

"This is serous, Luffy! We could die in a few days without any water!" Luffy shrugged.

"Then we better find someplace soon! Hopefully they'll have some meat…" Usopp soon gave up hope. Luffy was Luffy, and the most idiotic of any idiot he would ever meet. They walked on in silence for a little longer before Usopp casually asked

"So you weren't lying about the cave? Is that where you found Zoro?" Luffy nodded.

"Yeah. But he was a lot bigger then, and completely green. Plus he had a tail."

"… A tail? Really, Luffy?"

"It's true! It was all green and swirly and misty…" Usopp gave his friend a blank stare for a little longer before sighing.

"Why does he get to go in the lamp while we're out here? Isn't it small in there?"

"He said it cramped like hell."

"Then why did he go in?"

"I dunno." Luffy pulled the lamp out of his pocket and held it up to his ear. He pulled it away and stared incredulously at Usopp. "He's sleeping!"

"Eh??" Luffy held the lamp to Usopp's ear, where he could just hear faint snoring. "How can he sleep in there?!"

"It's a mystery! Let's wake him up!" Usopp held up his hands and waved them in an 'x' sign.

"Nooo way! We are _not_ waking up the homicidal, all-powerful genie! How would you even wake him up anyway?" But Luffy had already picked off the lid of the lamp and was peering inside it.

"Hellooo? Zooorooo~?? Wake up!" Luffy began tapping the sides of the lamp. "Wake up, Zoro!"

"Luffy, I think you're supposed to rub it…"

"What makes you think that?"

"He said something about you rubbing the lamp, right? Try it." Luffy shrugged and complied. No sooner had he given two rubs than the same green smoke began pouring out the spout of the lamp and forming into Zoro's human figure sprawled out on the desert. He was still sleeping. Usopp sweat dropped.

"How can he still sleep…?" Luffy began poking Zoro's face with a stick.

"ZO-RO. Wake up!" Zoro's face twitched before he sat up and rubbed his face. He blinked at the two.

"Oh, it's you." Zoro got up off the ground, dusting off his pants. He then crossed his arms and waited impatiently. "Well? Did you finally think of your wishes?" Luffy shook his head.

"I don't want any wishes." Zoro grumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

"Then why the hell did you wake me up??" Luffy shrugged.

"We were bored. And hungry. And lost."

"I don't sing or dance, I only give food if you wish for it, and I can't give directions."

"Why not?"

"…" Zoro simply began shrinking back into the lamp. Luffy grabbed him before he fully got in.

"Wait! Come on, won't you at least walk with us?? If you're gonna travel with us, you need to walk too! It's not fair if I have to carry you!" Zoro backed out of the lamp and glared at Luffy.

"You're carrying the lamp anyway!" Luffy then handed Zoro the lamp and began walking.

"Well then, I'm not holding it anymore! It's your lamp, and you have to carry it!" Zoro scowled at his retreating figure before he noticed his cuffs beginning to glow dangerously. Stuffing the lamp in his waistband, he growled under his breath and began to walk after the two. Luffy and Usopp walked in silence, Usopp stealing glances back to where Zoro was following about five feet behind. He nervously asked

"Did you really have a tail?" Luffy whirled and cried

"Don't ask him that!! He exploded the last time I asked him!" Zoro slapped his forehead.

"Idiot!"

* * *

They had all been walking for another hour when Zoro paused, a strange expression on his face. Luffy and Usopp stopped and looked back, bewildered.

"Zoro? What's up?"

"…" Zoro slowly lifted a hand and placed it on his stomach, which was making various noises. "I'm… hungry?" Luffy stared at Zoro.

"We're all hungry! But when we get to the next town we can eat! Maybe they'll have meat! Do you like meat, Zoro?" Usopp rolled his eyes.

"I think what the problem is, is that Zoro's supposed to be an all-powerful genie. How can you get hungry??" Zoro shook his head in exasperation.

"I knew that I was reduced to my human strength when I was in human form, but…" Usopp smirked.

"You've never been human long enough to feel hungry, have you?" Zoro glared at the look on his face, making any traces of smugness disappear instantly.

"I just haven't felt hungry in a thousand years! I forgot what it was like… Why the hell is my strength leaving?!" Luffy grinned.

"That's just part of the adventure! Plus there's nothing like eating when you're hungry! But you can just turn back into a genie if you can't handle it…" Zoro's head snapped up so quickly one might have thought his head would fly off.

"I can handle anything, dammit!" Luffy simply shrugged and continued walking.

"Then let's go! We need to find a town soon, or we could all die!" Zoro twitched and continued walking.

"How the hell can a prince say that with such a straight face??" Luffy blinked.

"What kind of face should I make then?"

"Weren't you raised in a palace?? With servants and food any everything? The sultans I met all cowered in the face of death, and most wished for eternal life." Luffy stared at Zoro oddly.

"Why would they want to do that? Everyone dies, eventually!" Zoro stared at Luffy with an odd expression before shrugging and moving on.

"They do, I suppose. Just aren't that many who would face it so easily, I suppose." Usopp shuddered as he thought about his own close encounter with being executed.

"Facing it sure gives you a real respect for living, I'll say that… By the way, what happened to the sultans that wished for eternal life?"

"They were killed before they could make their final wish. Apparently the people didn't appreciate having a sultan that would live forever, and they all came and killed the sultan."

"And you didn't do anything??"

"It's the rules. I can't save anyone unless they wish to be saved. You could all be sinking in quicksand and I would be forced to wait for any wishes. Simple as that." Usopp stared at Zoro incredulously before shaking his head.

"That must suck, then. What if you wanted to save someone, and they were dying right in front of you?" Zoro stared at Usopp as though he had asked the most retarded question in the world.

"You just watch them die; I've never wanted to really save anyone."

* * *

Finally the trio reached a large rock formation and rested. Luffy moaned as he slumped in the shade.

"So hungry…" Zoro shook his head.

"Aren't you two heading for the sea? You should at least know where you're going!" Usopp scowled.

"Aren't you supposed to be all powerful? At the very least, you could provide us with a map!"

"Powerful doesn't mean all knowing! How the hell am I supposed to know where we are?"

"So you're lost too!"

"No I'm not, you are! I'm just forced to be with you!"

"That makes you lost too!"

"Shut up!"

"MEAAAAAAAT!!!!" Both Zoro and Usopp jumped as Luffy suddenly gave a shout and pointed to the sky, where the two could just see a vague outline of a bird. Zoro shaded his eyes as he glanced up.

"What do you know, it's a bird." Usopp grinned.

"Food at last! Go catch it, Zoro!"

"That's considered interfering."

"… You just don't want to, right?"

"Like hell I do."

"I'll get it!!" They turned to Luffy, who was stretching both arms up towards the rock in front of them. He clung to the top and grinned.

"Gomu gomu no…" Zoro blinked.

"Where'd he learn to talk like tha-?"

"ROCKET!!!" Still holding onto the rock, Luffy allowed his arms to snap back in place and was catapulted up to the bird. Usopp blinked as he watched Luffy hit the bird head on.

"Not too bad of an aim for his first shot." Zoro nodded in agreement. Suddenly his cuffs began glowing and he looked at them in bewilderment.

"Eh?" Usopp followed his gaze and looked at Zoro in alarm.

"The whole distance thing will still zap you??" Zoro shook his head in confusion.

"It only works like that if I try and move away from him with the intention to leave for good. Or if I'm standing still while he's…" Suddenly Zoro's gaze snapped up the bird, which, now compared to Luffy's figure, was very, very large. And was holding Luffy in its beak.

And was now flying away.

"Usopp!! Zoro!! Save meee~!!!" The cuffs began to shock Zoro, and he jumped to his feet and began to run after the bird.

"Shit, shit, shit!! Of all the stupid things to do!" Usopp ran along side him.

"Why aren't you flying; you can fly, can't you??"

"Like hell I'm showing any weakness like that! I can't do anything for him anyway!"

"Hey look, it's people!"

"Oi travelers, can you help us?" Zoro and Usopp blinked as three figures came into sight. They were dressed oddly, and had painted faces that were melting from the intense heat. A key factor that Zoro noticed was that they were all riding horses. The head man began

"Listen here, we're lost and thirsty, and we've been separated from our group! Can you give us directions, or at least a little water-?"

"Move!!" Zoro gave a running leap and landed on the horse at the front, throwing off the rider and giving the horse a zap with his finger. "Yah!!" The horse gave a start and took off, leaving Usopp in the dust. Usopp glanced around nervously as one of the other men jumped off his own horse to help up the man that had fallen.

Well, he did call himself a bandit. While the two men were attending to the fallen rider, Usopp snuck around and climbed on the rider-less horse, giving it a slap and awkwardly holding the reigns.

"…Yah?" Fortunately for Usopp, the horse was very skittish and took off instantly. Unfortunately for Usopp, he had never ridden a horse before and was clinging to the saddle when he nearly fell off of the speeding horse. "GAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" The yell made the men realize that they had been robbed twice, and they all piled on the remaining horse and took off after them.

"Get back here you thieves!!" Usopp clung to the saddle for dear life as the horse caught up to Zoro's horse. Zoro rolled his eyes as he took in Usopp's position.

"Oi, you're supposed to _sit_ on the saddle, not hold it." Zoro shot out an arm and snatched Usopp, placing him back on the seat. "Learn to balance properly and hug it with your knees!" Usopp turned his head at the out of place tone in his voice.

"Are you... actually enjoying this??" Zoro smirked as he glanced back to where their pursuers were falling behind. Piling three men on one horse was proving to be too much for the poor beast, and it could only run so fast.

"I haven't had this much excitement in centuries! If only there was sake..."

"Sake?" Zoro sighed and looked away.

"Never mind..."

"Get back here you damned bandits!"

"We'll kill the lot of you, damned long nose!"

"Yeah, and that damned seaweed head too!" Zoro stopped his horse so quickly that the dust sent up was nearly as large as his genie form. When Usopp noticed that Zoro was no longer following, he blinked and carefully attempted to turn his horse around, instead ending up slamming against the ground near Zoro. Usopp groaned as he picked himself up, the horse running off in the distance.

"Zoro, why did you stop? We're gonna lose Luffy!" Zoro did not answer, but watched the men approach with narrowed eyes. "... Zoro? What are you...?"

Zoro slowly drew two katana, his cuffs sparking. He ignored the small warning jolts as the men finally reached them and jumped off their horse, all drawing their scimitars. The apparent leader stepped forward, smirking. As he opened his mouth to speak, Zoro instead spoke in an icy tone, jumping off the horse and cricking his neck.

"Which one called me seaweed head then...?" He glared when none of them responded, and then dashed forward with the katana, the zaps from his cuffs not even registering in his mind.

* * *

Nami swore as she ran from the men, heart racing. She should have seen this coming, in retrospect. When telling another treasure obsessed bandit that she is supposed to confiscate the spoils from their last run, she really should have made sure that she had the firepower behind her threats.

And Buggy was not a man to be intimidated by bluffs. So Nami had backed away slowly from the devil fruit user, putting up a great show of her complacency...

... And had made off with the map to the stash when no one was looking, slipping away like the thief she was. What she had not been expecting was for Buggy to find out before she could skip town, taking Eyelashes and locking him up. And now she was running for her life in the deserted town, Buggy's men right behind her. The men smirked as they advanced on her, slowly closing the distance between them.

"We've got you now, you little thief!"

* * *

"Buggy, sir, the men are closing in on her!"

"Finally; catch that flashy double-crossing thief!" The man standing on the roof near Buggy watched the men gain up on Nami from the tallest building in the town. Suddenly, another man blinked at something in the sky, and he yelled

"Buggy! There's something flying in the sky!" Buggy blinked and stared up, noting the odd bird-human shape.

"Well what are you waiting for, then?? Shoot it down!"

"Yes, Buggy, sir!" The man motioned to a group on the other side of the roof, and they pointed a large cannon at the sky, carefully aiming for the bird.

* * *

"We've got you now, wench!"

"What made you think that you'd get away from us??" The men were now only five feet behind Nami, and she ran as her life depended on it.

"Shit!" Suddenly the men paused and stared at the sky as another voice sounded from above.

"…aaaaAAAA**AAAAAHHHHH!!!!**"

"What the-?!" Nami screamed as an explosion sounded behind her, and she looked back to see a young man in an odd straw hat sitting on the ground between her and the men. The man groaned and picked himself up, dusting off his pants.

"That could have hurt so badly… But it's a good thing it didn't…" Nami stared at the man before immediately snatching the opportunity. She cried out as though in horror and dropped to her knees.

"Please sir, I'm so sorry! Don't make me betray Buggy again, please!" The men glanced at the man in confusion, and then slowly shook their heads in amazement.

"So _that's_ why she betrayed Buggy! This creep put her up to it! Come on boys, if we kill him, we'll get the map back!!" The men all raised their swords and charged the boy, who was staring at Nami in complete confusion.

"What are you talking about? Who are-?" Then when he suddenly turned and ducked, one of the scimitars nearly swiped his hat in two. As it were, the hat simply flew off and rolled away, and he turned to the men with a murderous look in his eye as Nami retreated to a nearby building. Luffy punched out the offender, sending him flying back a good ten feet.

"Oi jerks, don't touch my hat!!" The remaining men looked at their fallen comrade uneasily, but then charged Luffy with their swords raised high.

"HAAAAA!!!"

* * *

"We're so sorry, sir… We had no idea that you were in such a hurry…" Zoro simply turned and shot them a deadly glare, and they huddled together. Not that they had much of a choice. Usopp and Zoro had bound them together and tied them behind the remaining two horses, although making them walk forced them to slow to only a trot. Usopp glared at the men from his own seat.

"Well thanks to you, we've lost our friend!" Usopp sighed as they cowered back. He pulled his (not nearly as skittish) horse close to Zoro and whispered

"How are we going to find Luffy now?" Zoro shrugged.

"Usually I'd follow the lamp, but…" Usopp scowled as he realized the problem.

"But you have the lamp. Of course that would come to bite us in the ass." They walked along in silence for a bit, and then Usopp looked at Zoro curiously.

"Are those cuffs still hurting?" Zoro shook his head.

"Not nearly as much. I'm putting in an effort to find him, and that's what matters. If I was just plodding along without any intent to find him, I'd be zapped to kingdom come. Plus they're starting to hurt less; we must be getting close."

"So… we're using your pain as a tracking system for Luffy?"

"Exactly."

"… Doesn't that bother you?"

"No, not really." Usopp shook his head in disbelief. Behind them the men began whispering uneasily to themselves.

"Buggy's gonna be so mad…"

"Who's Buggy?" The men gave a start and turned to Usopp, who was watching them oddly. One of the men finally said

"What do you mean, 'who's Buggy'?? He's the infamous Clown Bandit of the east, our leader!"

"You guys are bandits?"

"Does the word _infamous_ mean anything to you??" Usopp huffed, puffing out his chest and jamming a thumb at it.

"I'll have you know that I was once the leader of the infamous Vegetable Bandits, the sole thieves of the East Blue's capital! 'Infamous' means nothing to a great man like me!"

"What happened to the rest of the vegetables?" Zoro turned and gave them a look, and the man quickly revised "N-Not that I'm calling you a vegetable…"

"I had to let them go."

"Obviously they weren't worthy of having such a man as their leader…" Usopp held up his nose in pride before suddenly snapping his head towards the men.

"You guys are making fun of me, aren't you??"

"Yes."

"Zoro, why didn't you kill them??"

"That's against the rules, oh great Usopp-sama."

"Now you're making fun of me too…"

"But Buggy's going to have our heads for this! First we get lost from the rest, and now we're prisoners… He has a devil fruit you know!" Usopp began trembling.

"A… devil fruit??"

"Yeah, I hope we don't have to go back…" Usopp looked at Zoro worriedly.

"What if Luffy's run into him?"

"Then I can go back to my lamp in peace."

"This isn't funny at all!"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Usopp gave the dead serious look on his face a single glance and then sadly shook his head.

"Well, even if _you_ don't care what happens to Luffy, I do! And we've got to find Luffy soon, or he could even be dead now…"

"He's not dead."

"Are you sure?" Zoro held up the glowing cuff on his wrist and gave it a tap for emphasis.

"We're getting close."

* * *

Luffy huffed as the remaining men ran off, dragging away the wounded. He turned and picked up his hat, inspecting it for damage before placing it back on his head.

"Stupid jerks, messing up my hat like that."

"Hey, you're pretty strong!" Luffy blinked and turned to where Nami hopped off the barrel she had been sitting on, walking over to Luffy with a smirk. "Perhaps you can help me…" Luffy jumped back as she walked up.

"Oi, you're that girl that made them attack me! You wanna fight??" Nami shook her head sadly.

"Oh, but I thought you'd understand… They have something of mine, you see, and I was hoping for a strong man like yourself to help me get it back…" Luffy blinked as she smiled seductively at him, then simply shrugged and walked away.

"No thanks. I gotta find my friends." Nami growled after him, almost in disbelief that he would resist her charms. Suddenly Luffy paused and held his stomach. "Argh, I'm still hungry…" Nami walked over and patted his back.

"I can feed you, then. Come on; let's borrow a house for some… negotiations."

* * *

"Clown Bandits?" Nami nodded, still looking down sadly.

"A group of bandits that stole all of my fortunes. It's all that my family has, you see, and-"

"Well, thanks for the food, but I have to go!" Nami stared at Luffy in disbelief and slammed her hands down on the table.

"PAY ATTENTION WHEN I'M RELATING MY SAD STORY, DAMMIT!!!" Luffy blinked.

"Why? I don't even know you…" Nami slapped her forehead, but then tried charming him again, running her fingers up his arm.

"I just want one little favor, and then I can give you something." Luffy blinked and pulled his arm back.

"Like what?" Nami floundered at his stupidity, but then groaned as she realized she was playing the wrong cards.

"Well, I can give you some of the treasure…"

"No thanks."

"Buy you a slave?"

"Naaah."

"Give you a map?"

"A map? As in… directions? You know how to get around the desert?" Nami held up a fist in pride, momentarily forgetting her objective.

"I'm the best damned mapmaker in this country! I can get to any city, any place, in half the time that others spend wandering around without a clue!" Luffy grinned and pumped his fists in the air.

"That's great! You wanna be my nakama then?? We're trying to go to the sea, and we don't know our way at all!"

"I said I'd give you a map, not drag you across the entire desert!!"

"Please~?? I don't know how to read maps…"

"Idiot!! I'll have to go for plan B then!" Nami then pulled out a length of rope, binding Luffy in the next instant. Luffy blinked.

"Eh? What are you doing?" Nami patted the top of his head.

"If you do this for me, I'll take you as far across the desert as you want. Do we have a deal?" Luffy grinned, nodding his head.

"Deal!"

* * *

"YOU DIDN'T CAPTURE HER?!?!" The man in front of him trembled.

"But sir, we found out that there was a man who-"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANOTHER MAN; YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KILL HER!! IF ARLONG FOUND OUT THAT WE TRIED TO KILL HIS LITTLE PET, HE'D HAVE ALL OF OUR HEADS YOU IDIOTS!!"

"But sir-!"

"WHAT?!?!"

"… She's come back. And with the map and the other guy…"

Nami walked up to Buggy's throne then, throwing Luffy at his feet.

"Hello there, Buggy. I've captured the man that was plotting against you! And I've returned your map!" Luffy blinked as the pieces clicked together, scowling up at Nami.

"Oi, you tricked me!" Nami stuck out her tongue at him.

"There's a bigger piece of the picture that you're missing, kid; I'm with them." Buggy laughed as he snatched back the map from Nami.

"Well done, Nami! Men, let's celebrate the return of our comrade! It turns out that she didn't betray us after all!!" The men cheered and brought out the alcohol, slamming Luffy in a cage and partying.

Nami drank the next bandit under the table, smirking to herself. It was a piece of cake, really. All she had to do was wait until the rest of the bandits were drunk or sleeping, and then she could grab the map, free Eyelashes, and then she was home free. She turned to look almost regretfully at the boy who had only gotten caught up by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was staring at the food with a hungry look on his face. Sighing and picking up another plate of food, she walked over to him and slid it through the bars.

"Here." He beamed up at Nami and immediately ate the entire plate, despite Nami feeding him only a little while ago.

"Thanks! You're not so bad after all!" Nami sadly shook her head at his naivety.

"If only you knew, kid…"

"Oi, Nami! What are you doing?" Nami whirled to see Buggy standing behind her with a bottle of rum in his hands. She stuttered for an answer, kicking away the empty plate.

"I was just… telling him what a fool he was for attempting to rob you!"

"Eh?" Buggy laughed, leaning down to smirk at Luffy.

"So you thought that you could put up Nami to betray us, boy? Don't you know who you're dealing with??"

"What are you talking about?" Buggy glared, and then grinned a nasty grin. He turned to the men behind him.

"I've just thought of something fun for us to do! Men, bring out the cannon! And our special ammunition!" Nami watched five men drag a cannon near the edge of the roof, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

* * *

Zoro and Usopp hopped off the horses as they came in the town, tying them on the post of the nearest bar. Usopp glanced back at the men, who were trembling at something. He blinked.

"Oi, what's wrong?"

"Th-This is… the town that we were supposed to go to…"

**BOOM!!** And then a giant explosion collapsed a whole section of the town right in front of them. The men shrank back and wailed

"And now he's mad!! That was his special cannon explosion; he only uses that if he's going to kill anyone who gets in his way!!" Usopp processed this, nodded sympathetically… And threw himself behind Zoro.

"Z-Zoro… are you sure Luffy's here??" Zoro grabbed Usopp and tossed him a few feet away, scowling.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'd think I'd notice if we were going the wrong way."

"What I mean is: why don't you go first?" Zoro scowled down at Usopp, who merely looked up with large, pleading eyes. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"First of all, I've been crammed in a lamp that is only eight inches long with about three inches of it being my living space for a thousand years; **do not think that I feel any sympathy**. Second of all, we need to keep moving. Try and keep up." And Zoro then stalked away, leaving Usopp to follow and wonder if he had agreed to his request or not.

* * *

Nami stared down at the small mach in her hand, and then looked back at the boy in the cage. Even with the cannon pointed directly at him, even with Nami standing right by the fuse with the match and the crowd of murderous bandits cheering her on…

He was staring at her with a blank face. It was an odd look for someone she had thought was incapable of anything but stupidity, and he was watching her very carefully. Nami thought he had every right to watch her; she was about to light his death! But somehow she had a feeling that he could sense her inner turmoil at bringing herself down to a real bandit's level, and he was somehow expecting her to do something stupid and suicidal.

She could feel it coming anyway, even if she did try to maintain a healthy level of self-preservation.

She gave a small start as he then spoke, face still blank. "Your hand is shaking. That's not good." Nami glanced down; huh, so it was. He continued on with the same blank face, as though his life wasn't hanging on Nami's decision.

"I have a friend who's a bandit, too. Usopp's the nicest person I've ever met though… He never even wanted to become a bandit in the first place! Things happen, I guess." Nami snapped up her head at the words; they were describing a very familiar scenario. She snapped back in an attempt to distract herself.

"Not everyone has a choice in how they live! Not everyone has the freedom to make their own decisions like you!" He blinked as though Nami had said something stupid.

"Who said I ever had a choice, either? None of us are free; that's why we left home. That's why we're going to the seas: for the ultimate adventure!" Nami stared at him, awed at his conviction. Was he really…?

"Oi, Nami! It's not that hard to light a fuse!" One of the bandits then came up behind her, snatching away the match and lighting it. Then he held it up to the fuse. "We can't wait all day, you know."

Something in Nami snapped. Maybe it was the stress of plotting against a fellow bandit while not betraying their employer, maybe it was the kindred spirit sitting in front of the loaded cannon speaking of something that Nami could never even dare to dream of, but either way Nami whirled to the offender with a murderous look in her eye. She then yanked out her staff pieces, sliding the slots together in a twirl, and slamming the full-length staff against the bandit's head. Hard.

The crowd went silent at the new development, Buggy stepping forward with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"Nami, what the hell is the meaning of this?! I gave you the honors of terminating the man that made you suffer, and you directly disobey me??" Behind her the boy blinked.

"Oh, so you're saving me now…?" Nami glared; she had a suspicion that he expected it all along.

"Idiot! I'm not saving you! And _you_" She turned and glared at Buggy. "I don't take orders from you, or any other one of Arlong's goons! My orders come from Arlong himself, and no one else!" Buggy twitched as he glared at Nami.

"Nami…" Behind her the kid blinked at the exchange.

"Arlong…?" Suddenly he yelped. "THE FUSE IS STILL LIT!!!" Nami gasped and turned to the cannon, where the fuse was slowly burning away. Nami then dropped her staff and did something that she would never be able to explain for years to come; she snuffed out the fuse with her bare hands.

Luffy stared at the girl as she shrieked in pain, but then yelled as Buggy sent his men to attack. "LOOK OUT!!"

**WHUMP!!**

Zoro was suddenly behind Nami, katana held out without being drawn. He glared at the offenders.

"If there's anything I hate, it's attacking from behind with a sword." Luffy grinned.

"Zoro!" A huff came as another figure climbed up at the top of the stairs, collapsing. "Usopp!" Usopp rolled over on his side, staring at Luffy without really seeing his situation.

"Luffy…" Usopp wheezed, pausing to clear his dry throat. "We gotta… get out of here… Buggy… the clown…" Usopp's attention was then drawn by a cough, and he looked past Luffy (why was Luffy in a cage?) to see the entire gaggle of the Clown Bandits staring at the new intruders with their scimitars drawn.

Usopp's eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted dead on the spot.

Nami glanced back to where the green-haired man repositioned his swords back to their original places. She could have sworn that no one was there a moment ago…

"Th-Thank you sir…" The man turned and scowled at her.

"I didn't save you. They were just in my way." Nami blinked at the odd logic before glaring right back.

"Well then, you must have been in a real hurry to get three feet behind me just as they were attacking me! I'm trying to thank you-"

"I. Didn't. Save. You." Nami huffed and turned away.

"Right."

"Nah, it's true. Zoro's not allowed to save people." Nami blinked and turned to the boy that was sitting in the cage, wearing a smile of relief. She turned back to the man; Zoro wasn't it? Was he a slave then? But the scowl on Zoro's face as he glanced back was far from what any slave would show his master.

"You idiot!! Do you realize how long we had to chase that damned bird?! What kind of fool shoots himself up into the sky like that??" The kid shrugged.

"We were hungry, weren't we? You wouldn't get it…" Nami almost went cross-eyed at what their conversation implied. He had shot himself into the sky and was carried off by a bird?! Zoro scowled as he began walking towards Luffy.

"Why you…!!" Buggy then stepped forward with an incredulous look on his face, staring particularly at the three katana strapped to Zoro's side. His face then widened into a large smirk.

"Roronoa Zoro, I presume?"

* * *

Cliff hanger!! They're starting to become addicting… And before you ask; **no**, Buggy is _not_ a thousand years old. I actually like this chapter, kind of… Which probably means that it has way more than the usual load of crap in it. Eh, oh well. I only screwed a little bit with this part… Like the whole conversation thing. Luffy isn't actually calling himself a bandit, you know. And Nami is a bandit herself anyway, so she would have no reason to hate Luffy. I would imagine that she would resent anyone who she thought had a bit more freedom than her…

So instead of the whole 'pirates and their chosen way of life' gig that is supposed to be present, I went with Aladdin's theme of freedom instead. It works, yo. It works.

You know, I was thinking of who the characters most represent, and…

Aladdin would be Usopp.

Abu would be Luffy. (Just mixing around the main character order)

Genie would be Zoro. (Obviously)

Jasmine would be Nami.

Rajah, Jasmine's pet tiger, would be Sanji. (XD)

Jafar would be Arlong, with more than one Iago.

And then the obvious sultan would be Garp. Just less chubby and twice as silly. :D

… Yeah, or something similar. You never know. :3

Special thanks to bookishangel, Kerykeion, eternitybeckons, and NinjaFoodLover for reviewing! I SAY THIS EVERY CHAPTER BECAUSE I'M REALLY GRATEFUL!!! BAM, there it is.

… Why do I say BAM all the time…?? I think I got it from Animal Crossing… :O


	5. Legends, Lamps, and Losers

**WOAH NELLY! I completely forgot one teeny, tiny, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT detail when describing the lamp back in chapter one! I've gone back and fixed it, so you can go check it out. It doesn't come into play for a while, though… Actually, no need to look at it. It'll come when everyone's forgotten about this little rant, and then you can go look back in the first chapter and say to yourself 'was it **_**really**_** described like that?' And then I'll show you the first chapter and say 'Ha! It was like that the whole time! :DDD' And I'm telling you now, before I get all egotistical, that I **_**just now**_** realized I had forgotten it and that any mentions that it was like so the entire time is a big, fat lie. Carry on.**

WOO! CAMPING, YEAH! :DDD Fun-diddly-tastic times, yo. I swear, it should be illegal to bring so many sweets on one camping trip. When we took a side trip up in the mountains I forever swore off brownies in the morning. I didn't puke, but still… Twas a nightmare. D: Well, enough about me! On with the story! Well, sort of… You see… This chapter has many, many notes and rants. Only a small portion of this is the actual chapter… Feel free to skip, but some of these notes _are_ kind of important. Or you can live without them, I suppose. I'd like to know these things, sometimes. :D

I went back and reread Western Piece and I kind of depressed myself with my own story. Arabian Nights isn't One Piece world _or_ Aladdin world canon, and it didn't even include the Morgan Arc! Plus ZeldaAddict42 actually went and _researched_ western times like a true professional, complete with proper names and Western canon… and I just went to see if cannons existed in the Middle East when Aladdin was written! I fail… TT Granted, I do know a very limited number of things about deserts and genie legends and such, but I never bothered to go and confirm them; or I've taken them from stories like One Piece (Alabasta Arc) and Aladdin (the original version). That's bad research yo.

But how many of you guys have seen the sequel to Aladdin? The Return of Jafar? I'm not telling you to go out and watch it just for the sake of reading this chapter; but there are some genie concepts in here that are only introduced in the second movie. I've taken them also and screwed them up.

You guys have to understand that this is, in a very roundabout way, a Zoro torture fic. I've crammed Zoro in a lamp for a thousand years, stuck him with a retarded prince that has absolutely no desire to actually use his provided wishes, and made him the object of the bad guys' desire. (Not in _that_ way; creeps!) That's why he's my favorite Straw Hat; because he makes such torture too damned imaginable with his Chuck Norris superiority.

Oh yeah, because Document Manager has absolutely FAILED in their line making I've put funny looking circles as scene transitions instead. THEY PAWN, YO. AND THEY'RE FUN TO DO.

Don't own One Piece or Aladdin, so stop looking at me like that! CREEPS! Jk, jk… :D

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"**Ah, provisos? You mean limitations? ...Some all powerful genie."**

**~Aladdin**

To say that Buggy was the only one that wasn't confused was like saying that Zoro was a generally unhappy person. It was such an understatement it was almost a lie. Buggy seemed blissfully unaware of the confusion he was causing among his men, instead smirking at Zoro, who was just as confused as the rest.

Actually, he was even more confused than the rest, seeing how he didn't think anyone would know him a thousand years after he first became a genie. And he hadn't had a new master in the past two hundred years… (such a lovely nap, it was) But people just didn't live that long, sadly enough. Zoro raised an eyebrow incredulously at the man.

"Do I know you?" Buggy shook his head, turning back to his men as though expecting them to share in his private joke. He was not put off by their blank expressions, instead spreading his arms wide in preparation of an epic tale.

"Roronoa Zoro is a legend in my country; a man that people fabled to be a demon in human form. A man that used three swords as an incarnation of the demon god, Asura. He traveled the world, slaughtering any swordsman who dared challenge him. There are hundreds of tales of his deeds, all ending with him walking away with blood on his swords. Everyone knew him by his odd green hair color, a shade of green that was not to be found anywhere else in the world. People who saw him were advised to run far, far away; and there were no known charms or tricks to ward off such an evil." If anything, Zoro's eyebrows practically raised above his head. He seemed almost amused.

"And what does this have to do with me?" Buggy paused dramatically.

"The myth is a thousand years old!" The men let up a collective murmur at this. "Roronoa disappeared somewhere around this section of the world, as people said. Many thought some grand warrior finally defeated him… I just never realized that he had settled down and had a whole line of the Santoryuu swordsmen!" Zoro practically facevaulted, face ablaze.

"E-Eh?" Buggy glared at his incompetence as Luffy blinked, staring at Zoro with a funny expression on his face.

"Zoro, you had a kid?" Buggy twitched and snapped at him

"Idiot! Isn't it obvious that this man is the direct descendant of the demon man Roronoa Zoro? He even has the same name, and three katana! And the same shade of hair! You can't get that kind of sword anywhere around here, and there's no mistaking that rare green color, so they must be a family heirloom!" Zoro scowled heavily at Buggy, cheeks still slightly red.

"You've gotten the whole thing wrong, baka. Just let us leave, and no one gets hurt." Buggy smirked and flicked out his hand, daggers fanning out through his fingers.

"On the contrary, I'm quite interested in you, Roronoa. I often listened to the great Roronoa's deeds as a kid, and I've often dreamed of something like this. Imagine my excitement being able to kill the descendant of the man that even wiped out an entire island of warriors!" Zoro realized what he wanted, and slowly drew his sword, eyes sharp.

"You want a fight, do you? I'm afraid that while I would normally agree to your request… I've have other obligations. Now I'm going to ask you only once: Are you going to let us leave, or are you prepared for a world of hurt?" Buggy grinned a maniacal grin.

"As if you could kill me, runt!" Zoro hmphed, though he didn't deny it as he looked back then.

"Oi, Usopp. You done yet?"

"Eh?" The entire gang of Clown Bandits then realized that while they were engaged in Buggy's monologue, Usopp had woken up from his faint and set to work on Luffy's cage with a small piece of shrapnel from the previous cannon blast. Usopp turned and eeped as he realized the entire crowd was staring at him.

He quickly dropped the shrapnel and took ten steps back from the cage, hands in the air.

"I-I didn't d-do anything…" Zoro rolled his eyes. Buggy nodded as he realized that nothing happened, and he turned back to Zoro.

"Now then, where were we?"

"You were shutting up and leaving." Buggy tsked.

"I think not, Roronoa. I was just about to kill you!" With these words, he rushed forward with his daggers outstretched. Zoro sighed and drew a second and third sword, placing the first sword in his mouth. Taking a stance, he charged forward…

… And reappeared on the other side of Buggy, Buggy collapsing and his body separating into four sections. Nami blinked rapidly at Zoro's speed as Zoro paused and looked back, eyes wide. Usopp stuttered from where he was.

"H-He… died? I thought…" Zoro simply narrowed his eyes as he looked over the body. Nami looked at Zoro and gave a very slight shake of her head. Behind him the crowd was snickering; a sure sign of foul play.

"I can't. He's not dead." Suddenly Zoro stiffened as a hand grabbed his foot and flipped him on the ground. The lamp dropped out of his haramaki, clanging against the rooftop and bouncing to a halt near Buggy's foot. No one noticed it.

Buggy's body then rose into the air, his hand (now sliced in half) coming back from where it had tripped Zoro. He smirked at the bewildered look on Zoro's face as he pulled himself up.

"The Bara Bara fruit; a devil fruit from your country of origin. This fruit makes me a sectioned man, meaning that no swordsman can ever harm me! You've just found your family's natural enemy, boy!" Zoro slowly stood as Buggy's body parts floated off the ground, putting themselves back together as Buggy stepped back into another stance. Zoro shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe it…"

"Oh, afraid?"

"Tch. As if. I can't believe the fact that I would run into _two_ Bara Bara men, even in a different country!" Buggy glared as Zoro picked up his swords.

"That's impossible, idiot! Devil fruits are completely unique! Only one can exist at a time!" Zoro scoffed as he turned back to Buggy.

"I know that." Buggy was indignant as he stomped his foot in outrage.

"Then don't try to flashily lie to me, dammit!" Suddenly Zoro stiffened, and Buggy followed his gaze down to his foot at the lamp that was near it. He blinked at it.

"Oh, a treasure?" Buggy picked it up and carefully looked it over, then stuck out his tongue in distaste. "Ha! It's only made of bronze, idiot! It's not worth anything! It's nothing but garbage!" Buggy threw the lamp down in disgust, and slammed his foot down on it with all of his might.

And a small crack appeared in the side of the ancient lamp.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Usopp carefully moved the shrapnel around in the lock, again using the bandits' distraction to attempt to free Luffy. Luffy didn't even notice, as he was transfixed by the exchange taking place. Usopp shook in terror, nearly dropping the shrapnel.

"First the man-eating birds, now bandits with devil fruits, we're all gonna die…"

"What's he doing with Zoro's lamp?" Usopp blinked and followed Luffy's gaze. Usopp seemed worried until Buggy threw down the lamp. He sighed in relief.

"Whew, that was close."

"What was?" Usopp explained as he watched Buggy raise his foot.

"Zoro said that he has to grant wishes for whoever rubs that lamp. If Buggy had rubbed it… Eh? What's wrong with Zoro?" Zoro then went straight as a board as Buggy brought down his foot on the lamp.

"**AAAAGGHH!**" The entire crowd turned to Zoro in alarm as he yelled, collapsing to his knees as his side became stained red from an unseen wound. Usopp quivered as he removed the shrapnel slowly, staring at Zoro.

"Zoro…?" Buggy stared incredulously at the fallen man.

"The hell? I didn't even get in a hit on you!" Zoro's cuffs and the lamp then began glowing in synchronization, the crack slowly coming back together. The crowd drew back in alarm, Buggy staring at the lamp at his feet and then back to Zoro, who was slowly picking himself up, the bleeding slowing considerably. The pieces came together with an audible click.

"A genie?"

"Zoro!" Luffy wriggled in his bindings, willing Buggy great pain by his glare alone. "What the hell did you do to him, you damned big nose?"

... Nami moaned and slumped to the floor as the bandits all processed Luffy's word choice and gaped in horror.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING BIG NOSE?" Buggy shot out his hand with a dagger heading to stab Luffy in the head, but Luffy instead snatched it with his teeth and snapped the dagger in pieces.

"The second I'm out of this cage, I'm gonna kick your ass!" Buggy laughed, rage completely forgotten.

"Ha! Not while I have your friend's lamp, boy! Did you know that a genie's lamp is their very life? A good, long scratch is like running a sword over the entire length of their bodies! One little crack is like stabbing them in the back! Completely break it, and they're annihilated!" Buggy gave the recovering Zoro a nasty look as he stood over the damaged lamp.

"All powerful in every way; but a genie's greatest and only flaw is their own damnation!" Buggy grinned maniacally and held up a foot over the lamp. "BEING A GENIE IS A SENTENCE FOR ALL ETERNITY!" Just as Buggy brought his foot down, the lamp became ablaze in a green flame. Buggy yelped and hopped around on one foot while attempting to put out the flames on his heel.

"Hot, hot, HOT!"

"I told you that if you let us go, no one would get hurt..." The bandits all turned fearfully towards Zoro, who was slowly standing up straight, his eyes turning the solid green of his genie form. Buggy stuttered at the murderous look on his face then attempted a shaky laugh.

"Don't kid yourself Roronoa! I know that genies can't kill!" Zoro smirked demonically, giving a small wave with his hand. The lamp picked itself up and flew into Zoro's hand, and the cannon flipped and pointed itself at the startled bandits. The fuse flickered to life.

Zoro turned away and sheathed his katana as the fuse burned down, the cannonball in the cannon glowing an odd, green color just before it exploded.

"You'd be surprised what you can live through."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Nami raced through the streets with the three men, thoughts racing.

What the hell was she thinking? First she attempts to run away with the treasure map of the man that is almost as treasure-obsessed as herself; strike one. Then she backs herself into a tight corner by saving a kid that only gave her a few choice words; strike two. And now she's running through the streets with the retarded kid, a cowardly bandit, and a murderous genie.

If that wasn't her third strike, then she didn't want to know how much worse it could be.

Finally the three stopped and rested near a small market, all collapsing. The long nosed boy sighed as he leaned against a pole.

"It's a good thing I was able to get Luffy out of that cage before the cannon went off... And speaking of which," He turned and stared at Zoro, who was looking down at his bloody side in bewilderment. "Was all that stuff that Buggy said about you true?" Zoro scowled, putting a hand to his side and attempting to stop the bleeding.

"What the hell does that have to do with cages or cannons?"

"Just answer the question!"

"... Yes and no. I did travel around killing swordsmen, but I was searching for a specific swordsman. Somehow I ended up traveling the whole world, even if I was trying to only get to the island nearby..."

"You're over a thousand years old?" Nami suddenly became the center of attention. Zoro glared.

"I'm _not_ old. Now who the hell are you?"

"I-I'm..." Luffy came and clapped a hand on Nami's shoulder, grinning as he pointed to her.

"This is Nami, and she promised that she'd get us to the sea!" Nami glared at Luffy, shoving off his hand.

"Who ever said that?"

"You did. I went along with your plan B, so now you have to guide us as far across the desert as we want!"

"B-But..."

"So you were lying?" Nami turned and found herself under the scrutiny of Zoro, and suddenly found herself stuck. Who knew what a boy with three wishes could do if she disagreed?

"Meh, whatever." Zoro shrugged and pulled out his lamp from his haramaki, inspecting where the crack had been made carefully. "Shit. Still cracked; would explain the blood..."

"You just noticed that you were still bleeding?"

"Shut it, Usopp." Zoro looked it over some more before sighing heavily. "Does anyone have anything bronze on them?" Nami blinked.

"What for?" Zoro rolled his eyes as he set the lamp down next to him.

"The lamp is made of bronze. I need to repair the bronze lamp. I need bronze. Obviously."

"I mean why can't you just do what you did on the roof?" Zoro sighed and wiped his bloody hand on his shirt.

"That was just pressing the cracks together. I can't make metal appear to seal the cracks properly. I can't make any material appear unless it's for a wish. Speaking of wishes…" Zoro slowly got up, walking over to Luffy and grabbing him by the front of his vest. He began shaking him as he demanded "Why the hell didn't you just _wish_ for you to be saved from the bird? Not make us run around like rabid camels!" Luffy pouted despite being shaken so.

"That wouldn't have been fun." Zoro raised Luffy to eye level.

"Let me get something straight, _master_: I'm forced to be around you only when you _will_ me around. When you're flying away like that and are calling me, that's demanding me to be in the same range as you, with very painful consequences for otherwise! Now what the hell is so fun about being carried away by a bird that most likely wanted to eat you?" Luffy stared at Zoro like he was stupid.

"That wasn't fun at all! I thought I was gonna die."

"Then what do you mean being saved wouldn't be fun?"

"Fun for you guys! Running around like rabid camels is fun!"

"Not if you're being tortured the whole way!"

"Tortured?" Zoro turned and glared at Nami's question. He then sighed, dropping Luffy and returning to where he left the lamp.

"Nevermind. Just let me have any bronze you might find." He lay next to the lamp, picking it up and placing it on his chest as he closed his eyes. In a matter of seconds he was snoring. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Doesn't a bleeding side mean anything…?" Usopp asked no one in particular. Nami shook her head in disbelief.

"You're all insane."

"Oi! What the hell are you kids doing out here? Those bandits are still around!" The three non-sleeping people turned to see an old man running towards them waving about a spear. He had the oddest hair and odd armor on his chest over his vest. Luffy blinked and then grinned.

"Oi ossan, is that bronze?"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"Are you all insane? There's a murderous devil fruit user raiding the town and you want to stay behind to fix your lamp? You're injured! Take care of yourself first!" The four ignored the raving man as they poked around the shop. While the man's armor had not been made of pure bronze, as Zoro stated that he needed, the man had mentioned where they could find some. They were in an old blacksmith, in the supply room in the back. Usopp called.

"Oi, Zoro! I found some!" Zoro made his way over and took the offered dagger. He gave it a critical eye and nodded in satisfaction.

"Perfect. Just give me a second." Placing the lamp on the nearby anvil, he then held up the dagger over his other hand. The man watched him curiously.

"Boy, what the hell are you doing? Just take the dagger to the blacksmith at the camp and I'm sure he'd be happy to-" A small but powerful green flame flared up from Zoro's palm, and the dagger began glowing cherry red after a bit. The man gaped and stuttered as Zoro looked around, then grabbed a small stone cup and held it under the dagger as the flame increased. The molten bronze oozed into the cup as he explained.

"A thousand years ago, it was a lot harder to come by money for repairing swords. In my travels I had to learn to repair them myself, using the materials from the armor of the people I would fight against. I had to practice quite a bit before I even considered doing so for the white-sheathed sword, though."

"Th-Thousand years…" Zoro ignored him as he swirled around the bronze in the cup, and then dipped in two fingers as he held up his lamp. Unaffected by the heat, he scooped out a bit of the liquid metal and rubbed it over the crack in the lamp, hissing as the metal around the crack turned the same red.

"Shit, that hurts." When he had a considerable amount in the crack, he waved his hand over the lamp and the lamp with his cuffs glowed again, this time healing over perfectly. Zoro rubbed his side and sighed in relief as it stopped bleeding. "That's better." Behind him the old man fainted, Usopp looking at him curiously before shrugging and leaving him be.

"So what do we do now?" Nami shook her head from when she was staring at Zoro's lamp and huffed, walking out the door.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm not leaving without that treasure map! Or a considerable amount of treasure…" The boys all blinked as she went out the door. Luffy shrugged as they turned to him.

"I guess she likes treasure. Let's go help!" Luffy raced out the door, Zoro following after placing the lamp back in his haramaki. Usopp groaned.

"Why? Why can't I just leave town and live? Why must I follow the suicidal prince and his homicidal genie when they chase after the greedy bandit? Is my life as a bandit really that meaningless?"

Usopp ran out the door and after the trio anyway. "Oi guys, wait up!" Behind him the man twitched and groaned as he came to.

"Bandit…?"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Buggy stood and looked over the remains of half of the roof he was occupying, his men groaning as some of them attempted to pick themselves up. He growled to himself.

"How dare they try to flashily do me in? Genies aren't supposed to kill!"

"Ah, actually sir, no one actually died…" Buggy whirled to the offending bandit and tossed him off the roof. He listened until there was the telltale thud, nodding to himself at the man's death. He turned back to his enraged pacing.

"And now he's murdered one of my own! I'm so upset I need to shoot something!" The few conscious men took about twenty paces back from Buggy. Buggy jerked to the nearest (and stupidest) bandit and demanded "Well? That cannon isn't going to load itself! FIRE ANOTHER BUGGY SPECIAL!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Nami turned and gave a start to see that the boys were following her (well, at least Luffy was; the other two were following him). She glared at them.

"Why are you following me?" Luffy blinked.

"We're nakama, silly! I'm gonna help you!" Nami rolled her eyes.

"First of all, I don't know what 'nakama' means. Second of all, I know that you're just in it for the treasure! And it's all mine!"

"Of course it is. I don't want any." Nami stared at Luffy incredulously, Zoro and Usopp watching silently.

"How can anyone _not_ want treasure? Everyone loves treasure!"

"Yeah, I love my treasure too!"

"See! So you _do_ want my treasure!" Luffy laughed, pointing to his hat.

"This hat is my treasure! It means more than anything to me! Shanks told me to give it back to him when I went back home, but until then I have to keep it as a promise!" Nami stared at Luffy in disbelief, slowly shaking her head.

"Hats aren't treasure, kid. That kind of thing will get you no where in life; take it from me. Who is Shanks, anyway?" Usopp stepped forward.

"You've never heard of Akagami Shanks? He's the man who-"

"Akagami? As in redhead? Him?" Everyone jumped and turned to Zoro, who was staring at Luffy incredulously. "But he's-" Zoro was cut off by a loud explosion that took out a nearby building. The rubble collapsed on the two members closest to the side, Zoro and Luffy. Zoro and Luffy looked up to what the other two were sure would be an untimely end, Zoro shaking his head

"Tch." The rubble crashed on top of them. Usopp and Nami gasped, Usopp running forward and pulling away fallen stones.

"Luffy!" Nami wondered why he didn't call for Zoro as well until a voice sighed from next to him.

"Some people are so pathetic when it comes to revenge…" Nami whirled to see Zoro standing behind her with a bored expression on his face, not a speck of dirt on him. Nami stuttered before she mentally slapped her forehead.

Genie.

Duh.

But still… Nami then sadly looked over to where Usopp was pulling away the rocks frantically; that kid really was nice, and was so… She whirled on Zoro.

"Why didn't you do anything?" Zoro seemed surprised at the question.

"I did. I got out of the way."

"Why didn't you do anything for _him_? Isn't he the one that rubbed the lamp?"

"Don't remind me."

"Isn't it your job to save him?"

"No. My job is three wishes. Whatever happens in between is collateral damage." Nami twitched as though to grab Zoro and shake him, but silently reminded herself who was the one more likely to cause pain.

"Don't you care that he _died_?"

"Who died?" Nami spun around so quickly her spine made a very unhealthy noise. Luffy's voice drifted out from under a pile of large rocks, and Usopp was struggling to get them off. "Who died Nami?"

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU DIE?" Usopp pulled off another rock to reveal Luffy lying on the ground, looking up at Nami in confusion.

"Was I supposed to?"

"YES!"

"… Why?"

"…" Nami slowly sank to the ground, holding her head in her hands. Usopp looked over with a sympathetic nod as he freed the last of Luffy's limbs.

"Welcome to our world."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Buggy smirked to himself at the explosion in the distance, and then quickly returned to business.

"So what could they be planning…? I know that even if Nami would betray me, she isn't so stupid as to betray Arlong. And she _was_ told that she needed to take my treasure…"

"Perhaps I can be of assistance, sir?" Buggy turned to see his acrobat Cabaji standing behind him, arms folded. Buggy smirked.

"Perhaps you can. If I tell you exactly where they'd be heading, would you lie in wait for them?" Cabaji bowed.

"Nothing would please me more, sir."

"What about me, sir? I want to help too!" Another man ran up, a large tiger coming behind him. Buggy thought a bit.

"Well, Mohji, I suppose you could try picking off the numbers before they reach Cabaji… But both of you must remember to kill Nami first! If word of what we did reaches Arlong…" They both nodded in understanding, Mohji jumping on the back of the tiger and racing in the direction of the explosion while Cabaji left to the other side of town. Buggy himself went over to his chair (which had miraculously survived the explosion) and waited.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"So Nami, how do we get your treasure?" Nami twitched as she looked over at Luffy, before silently reminding herself that she simply had to let the whole building thing go. She sighed.

"I took a peek at the map while it was in my possession. I roughly know the location of the treasure Buggy found, but it's on the other side of town, near where Buggy is." Luffy nodded in understanding.

"So where do we go?" Nami looked at him suspiciously, before an idea occurred to her and she smiled sweetly.

"I need someone to help distract Buggy. And I also don't trust any of you with the location of the treasure. Work it out and…" Luffy nodded, slamming his fist into his palm.

"And then it's a mystery plan!" Nami slammed him on the head as hard as she could. Usopp hid behind Zoro when she turned her gaze over to him.

"You two _do_ understand what to do, right?"

"R-Right…"

"Hmph." Luffy got up, rubbing his head with a cheerful look on his face.

"So what do we do?"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp all walked through the town towards where they had run away from. Usopp shivered as he walked.

"Why are we going back to the scary clowns again?" Luffy shrugged, walking with his hands in his pockets.

"Because Nami said so."

"Why are we listening to the apparent double-crossing bandit?"

"Because Nami said so."

"WHY ARE WE LISTENING TO WHAT NAMI SAYS?"

"Because Nami said-"

"I get it, I get it…"

"Then stop asking stupid questions!" Usopp slapped his forehead. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Was he always like this?"

"As long as I can remember."

"Was who like what?"

"Nothing, Luffy…" They walked along silently for another minute, and then Luffy asked

"Zoro?"

"Hn."

"Is there a way for you to stop being hurt if you're not close to me?" Zoro looked at Luffy oddly, but considered the question seriously.

"… Yes, there is a way." Luffy waited for him to elaborate.

"Well? What is it?"

"Why the hell would you want to know?"

"So I can _use_ it, obviously!"

"…" Zoro stared at Luffy in disbelief, before sighing and stating "It's a matter of permission, really. If I want to leave your vicinity, then I need you to actually tell me to do so. If you're walking away, you need to tell me that you don't need me around." Luffy nodded in understanding.

"That's easy! Let's try it out! Zoro, go take a walk somewhere else. You can meet us at Buggy's place later."

"Eh?" Zoro stared at Luffy as though he had just said something incredibly alien, but then shrugged and walked away. "Sure, then." Luffy waited until Zoro had walked out of sight before cheering.

"It worked!" He then continued to walk on ahead, Usopp looking back in confusion.

"… Why is he going back the way we came?"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Nami looked back, ignoring the twinge of guilt she felt for sending the three to what could easily be their deaths. She huffed as she turned back, shaking her head. She didn't care about them at all! And even if she did, they had a genie! Luffy most likely had at least one wish left to save their life, so they were just fine!

Finally, she came to the edge of town, looking around carefully. Buggy most likely had at least one guard around the treasure cave, but Nami thought she could handle them with her usual robbing style.

So Nami was less than happy when the man that jumped out before she could enter the cave was none other than Cabaji the Acrobat. Nami yelped and jumped back as a sword dug into the ground where she had been, and Cabaji slowly looked up with a smirk.

"Well, well, well… You're quite predictable, Miss Thief."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Usopp and Luffy trudged onwards, silent. Usopp kept glancing back to where Zoro had left, then turned back to Luffy suddenly.

"Is it really okay with us going on without him?"

"Sure it is! We'll meet up with him later!"

"But he was going in the wrong direction…"

"I did tell him to walk somewhere."

"That's true but…"

"He'll be fine, Usopp! And so will we! Now we need to go find Buggy, so that Nami can get her treasure and I can kick his ass!" Usopp sighed.

"That's a groundless statement." They walked on for a little while longer before a voice yelled out to them.

"OI! KIDS!" Usopp and Luffy blinked and turned to where the man from before came running up, huffing and puffing. Luffy blinked.

"Oh, it's the ossan that helped us! Hey there!" The man ran up and panted from his run, placing his hands on his knees.

"Who... the hell… are you…?" Luffy blinked.

"Eh?" The man looked up with a glare.

"I've never seen you kids in this town, and I'm the mayor of it! Are you two bandits?" Luffy laughed.

"Nah, I'm not. But Usopp was the bandit leader of the Vegetable Bandits, weren't you Usopp?" Usopp smirked and proudly held up his head.

"That's right! I was the great leader of many brave men and—Hey! What…?" Usopp gulped as the man pointed his spear directly at Usopp's throat, his eyes narrowed.

"So _you're_ the one that murdered the prince of the East Blue… I must say, I was expecting more from you." Luffy indignantly grabbed the spear from the man, stepping in front of Usopp.

"The hell, ossan? Usopp never hurt anyone! Especially not my Nii-san!" The man only glared at Usopp as he answered.

"I don't know who this 'Nisan' is, but this man murdered the crown prince of this kingdom: Luffy D. Monkey!" Luffy's jaw dropped.

"NANIIIII? Usopp murdered me?" Usopp whapped Luffy on the back of his head.

"Idiot! Do you feel murdered? That's why I wanted you to tell everyone you were okay before we left!" Luffy rubbed the back of his head as he processed this logic.

"… Oh, I guess not. Ha! People are so stupid sometimes! Hey ossan, guess what! Usopp didn't kill me, I just ran away! So stop looking like you want to hurt him!" The man glared at Luffy.

"You honestly expect me to believe that a kid like you is the late Luffy D. Monkey? Now I see that you two are in this together! The both of you are-" He was cut off by a loud roar, and a figure jumping down from the nearby roof on the back of a large tiger.

The man trembled. "I-It's Animal Tamer Mohji! We're all going to…" The man on the back of the tiger laughed.

"Well, if it isn't the boy with three wishes and his little friend! Where's your grumpy genie?" Luffy blinked, tilting his head to the side as he stared at Mohji, completely ignoring his questions.

"Oi, what's with that hat?" Mohji twitched, pointing to his head.

"This isn't a hat! This is my hair! My _manly_ hair!"

"You're stupid."

"And you're dead kid! Richie, take them out!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zoro grumbled to himself as he passed the same shop for the fourth time.

"Stupid bandits. Moving everything around. How the hell am I supposed to get anywhere?" But Zoro did admit to himself that it was nice to be able to walk around for a bit, even if his new master was a complete airhead. He patted his haramaki, making sure for the tenth time that the lamp was still there.

"Tch. Idiots. All of them." Zoro stopped short as a very, very important (at least to him) thought occurred to him. "But it could come down to a fight…" Zoro's face suddenly grew in an eager smirk and he turned and began running.

"I would really hate to be left out." He ran down another street, not realizing that he had turned from the first right direction in his life and was now on the verge of leaving town. Zoro knew that most genies would get around by simply teleporting, but he didn't want to try any distance greater than one hundred feet again.

The first (and last) time he had ended up on the other side of the world, and he had traveled everywhere but back to where his master was before his lamp had been rubbed and he was automatically transported back. Zoro still remembered how his cuffs had punished him greatly for such a distance.

He blamed Buggy again for screwing with the dimensions of the universe when he saw a large mountain side in the distance. There wasn't a mountain on this side of town! Damn Buggy for making him miss any fights! And then a voice drifted over the buildings towards him, along with the telltale swish of a metal sword being swung.

"You're quite predictable, Miss Thief." Zoro smirked at his luck, running forward and drawing his sword.

Who ever said that genies didn't get their own wishes granted every once in a while?

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

*slaps forehead* Oh Zoro… I know nothing of metallurgy or smelting. But I imagine for a flawless (which would equal painless) fix of metal you would need to replace any metal that was chipped off or badly damaged. And they probably didn't have any bounties a thousand years before the medieval times, so Zoro wouldn't be able to get any good money on his hands. Which means he couldn't afford a good blacksmith. Which means that he probably had to learn the basics of fixing his swords himself. BAM, my logic.

Okay, let's have a quick recap of the screwed up genie rules I have for this story revealed so far:

A genie's lamp is their life. In the second movie of Aladdin, Genie stated that in order to be rid of Genie!Jafar they had to destroy his lamp before he could be wished free. I've taken this to another level of a genie feeling any amount of damage done to their lamp. This is why Zoro obsessed over checking over his lamp when Luffy took care of it.

Zoro can not make things out of thin air unless someone wishes for something. And he's terrible at teleporting (xD), so don't think he can poof up something from another place. He's gonna have to find things the hard way, unfortunately.

Genies can not kill people; not even for a wish. While a very basic rule there is absolutely nothing wrong with thrashing someone within an inch of his life. A very, very small inch, but they can only do it to the point of which the person will not die of the genie's actions. Magically altered cannonballs work BECAUSE I DECREE SO.

Genies can not save other people's lives; except when someone wishes it. Zoro can trick his own retarded marimo mind to make himself think that someone was in his way just as they were attacking someone else, but otherwise it's just not gonna happen.

Genies must be in the vicinity of their masters unless when their masters _allow _them to be elsewhere. In the second movie Jafar tried to escape his master (Abel, Basel, Sale, what was his name?) but he was restricted by his cuffs. I've put pain in Zoro's cuffs simply because nothing else will register in his mind (and nowadays not even that works). But if the genie's still willing to stick around he'll just have a longer leash. Zoro never wants to stick around, though, so he's got a very small space limit.

Freebie magic a genie can do consists of: basic telekinesis (but this requires much concentration; something that Zoro only has when royally pissed), pyrokinesis (for my own basic pyro needs; but it's actually just the influence of kinetic energy itself), flight (but only when he has the swirly tail of DOOM), shape shifting (but right now he's in a self-inflicted competition of being able to handle being human), and limited teleportation (Zoro must limit himself or he would be lost forever.)

… I'm most likely forgetting something. When I have a full list in my head, I really need to write it down… And it's a good thing Zoro strikes me as someone who would prefer to use his katana rather than any magic, otherwise it just wouldn't be fair to the baddies.

This chapter is filled to the brim with alternations from the original arc, as I'm sure you've noticed. But I did say that this was an AU… Plus tigers are more revered than lions in Middle East, and are bigger anyway. And I like Rajah, even if he is more like Sanji than Richie… Who else imagined the rabid camels and giggled?

But with the whole Zoro's past thing… I imagine that he would have traveled the world just like in the manga, but if he hadn't met any Luffy, then things may have been _way_ different. I know that a lot of people may have their own idea of what the world and the main characters would be like without Luffy (I imagine something close to the apocalypse) so Zoro is actually from there. And he's met Luffy a thousand years late.

I mean, just imagine what would happen to the characters if Luffy hadn't shown up just as their lives were about to spiral down! Like if Zoro had never met Mihawk and realized his own weakness and vowed to become stronger, or if Kaya had been murdered even when Usopp tried to tell the truth, or if the Baratie had been taken anyway with Sanji sacrificing his life for a few more seconds of its freedom like he said, or Nami's village being enslaved forever in just the start of Arlong's takeover of East Blue and Nami being his navigator forever…

Yes, definitely apocalyptic. Now imagine Zoro coming from that horrid little dimension, and _then_ being crammed into the lamp for a thousand years, having a retarded master that won't use his wishes, and becoming the object of the bad guys' desire (_Still_ not in that way!)

This is a Zoro torture fic. There is no way around that little truth. I HAVE TAKEN MANY LIBERTIES WITH ZORO, BUT APPARENTLY HE'S QUITE BITTER FOR A REASON.

That is all. Rant over. BAM, there it is.

…… But really, you guys aren't _too_ mad about the whole dimension mess up, right? :DDD *gets eaten by sharks*

**Next time on Arabian Nights **(I forgot to do this last time) **: Mayors, tigers, and acrobats; oh m-… No, I'm not even going to go there. But the fights have begun! Buggy's past, with an odd connection to Zoro's own dilemma… What is Shanks' secret, and how do both the thousand-year-old Zoro **_**and**_** the thirty-something-year-old Buggy know him? … I totally just gave it away, didn't I? Oh well.**

SUPER special thanks to eternitybeckons, Kerykeion, Kelesnya, Jasmin Liertha, and NinjaFoodLover for reviewing! I SEND YOU MANY VIRTUAL HUGS OF DOOOOM- I mean… Happiness? :D

Anyway, now I need to continue on Horizons! So the whole writing streak with this story may go **way** down, because I prioritize Horizons before Arabian Nights! But that's only because when I say I'm going to do my best to update something weekly, I'll be damned if I let that go without the fight of the century!

… Such pretty words. It's a pity I'm so terrible at keeping them.

Please review. Nothing witty after such an honest request; just a simple 'please review'.


	6. Slave

I swore to myself I would get this up before Friday. An hour before midnight counts, I swear! But because I live in Pacific times… This may be considered Friday to a lot of you, wouldn't it? Pfft, it's still Thursday to me, and that's what counts!

WARNING! Blood and violence in this chapter! This kind of thing doesn't really bother me_,_ but just in case you're one of those squeamish people (but you've probably gotten over it by so much One Piece, right?)

Another warning! I SUCK AT FIGHT SCENES. I ALSO HAVE ODD THEORIES ABOUT GENIES THAT I DON'T FEEL OBLIGATED TO COMPLETELY SHARE WITH YOU AT THIS TIME. They get explained later.

Ha! I managed to keep the AN to a minimum (at least for me)! Most of this is actually the chapter! GO ME.

I do not own One Piece or Aladdin. I do, however, own the odd genie theories that come into play here, if there's anything I can semi claim… Because this is still based on the original plot; even if I've completely altered the theme and timeline. And a lot of the events. And I've messed up the poor characters.

I'm such a terrible person.

**Document Manager has decided to screw with me even further and take out any and all repeating punctuation marks. So if something seems like it needs a little more emphasis on the exclamation marking, then know that I really did try to put them in.**

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"**Hey, it's only an eternity of servitude."**

**~Genie**

Boodle was one of those people that didn't take crap from younger people. He himself was old, and he carried such a title with pride. Having no sheltered life, he had experienced hardships, trials, and the like for many, many years; something the townspeople respected in him and his words. Boodle knew what he was doing, and he had learned it all from experience.

At the moment, with a giant tiger and its murderous bandit master bounding towards them with mouth wide open, any experience or wise words were huddling in a little corner in the back of his mind. From such a distance they were screaming

"We're all gonna die!" The boy with the odd hat laughed at his friend's oddly parallel words.

"Don't worry so much, Usopp! We'll be fine!" Usopp whirled on his friend.

"That's a completely groundless statement Luffy!" If Boodle had not been so utterly terrified for his life he might have rolled his eyes; were they really still trying to convince him of that boy being a prince even in the wake of their doom?

…Yes. The apparent Luffy walked forward with a cheeky grin as the tiger was closing in on them. He planted his feet firmly in front of the two and looked back at Usopp.

"Hey Usopp! I just thought of something cool! Wanna see?" Usopp was nearly foaming at the mouth.

"JUST STOP THAT TIGER!"

"Shishishi~! Okay! Check this out!" Luffy then charged forward with his fist pulled back for a punch. "Gomu gomu no…" Boodle's eyes widened and his jaw dropped to see the boy's arm go back about five feet and then shoot forward and hit the oncoming tiger's rider.

"PISTOL!"

While it was still ten feet away. The tiger didn't seem to notice the loss of its rider to the horizon and continued with its charge. Luffy only turned and grinned at Usopp.

"Wasn't that-?" The tiger then slammed a paw into Luffy and sent him into a nearby building. Usopp's eyes rolled back in his head as the tiger turned to him with a snarl. The tiger seemed confused at Usopp's faint, but then turned back to the trembling mayor with a no-less fierce expression.

Boodle trembled in his boots as he shakily held up his spear. What the hell was going on? First a crazy young man comes and talks of days a thousand years ago and performs alchemy with his bare hands! Then the infamous bandit that murdered the crown prince comes and claims that he was traveling with said prince the whole time, and then his friend's arm stretched like rubber! And now the same boy was getting up right after being pelted into a building by a massive tiger!

… Boodle's jaw practically reached his waist as the same boy walked up and stepped in front of the tiger with a frown, looking none the less for wear.

"Oi, leave the ossan alone! He helped us fix Zoro!" Boodle trembled from behind him.

"Boy, what the hell are you doing? He's going to-" The tiger only roared in his face, and then swung his paw at him, claws outstretched. The boy ducked under the paw with impressive speed and gave the tiger a solid uppercut.

Boodle dropped the spear and fell to his knees as the tiger was sent ass-over-kettle into a building down the street. The tiger then decided that it was far out of its league, and gave a small 'mew' before turning tail and fleeing. Boodle stared at the boy in front of him as he turned and stared at the fallen Usopp in bewilderment.

"Nah, Usopp? Why are you sleeping?"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Nami shivered at the fierce look of anticipation on Cabaji's face as she backed away slowly.

"Hey now… We're all on the same side, aren't we? You can't kill me." Cabaji smirked as he held up the sword and pointed it at her.

"Unfortunately, your loyalties have apparently changed. Buggy has ordered your own annihilation, and Mohji will be so jealous when he learns that I had the pleasure of finding you first. I hope your little friends weren't planning on living too long…" Nami drew in a sharp breath as he chuckled.

Remember they have a genie, remember they have a genie, remember they have a genie… Nami kept up the mantra in her head to dispel any and all guilt. Right now her own life was in danger. She swallowed as Cabaji began advancing on her.

"I have an agreement with Arlong! I was only following his orders! The second he hears of this-" Cabaji charged forward.

"Which is why we cannot let you live!" Just as Cabaji swung the sword towards her, Nami ducked under his arm at the last minute and whirled, drawing her own staff. When his back was still turned, she gave it a heavy swing at his head, only for him to turn and block it with his sword at the last minute. He grabbed the staff from Nami's hands and tossed it out of reach, picking up Nami and raising his sword up.

"Now then, Nami, you are going to-"

"Oi." Cabaji and Nami both turned to see Zoro walking towards them with a sword drawn. Nami stuttered.

"B-But… You…" Cabaji stared at Zoro for a bit, but then his face morphed into a wide smirk.

"Roronoa Zoro. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Zoro's face grew in a similar smirk.

"Seeing how you're so pressed for time as to attempt to fight with the weak, how about a real fight between swordsmen?" Cabaji dropped Nami and turned to face Zoro fully.

"Nothing would honor me more than to fight the legendary Roronoa." Zoro placed his sword between his teeth and drew the other two.

"Then I would hate to disappoint."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Buggy growled to himself on his chair as the bandits around him continued picking up the debris. What was taking so long? It was only three kids and their crazy genie!

… This was when Buggy realized that he had left out the initial equation of three wishes in his plot for revenge. He suddenly shot forward in his seat, eyes wide.

"Shit! The genie!" The men jumped back at his outburst, still wary of their leader's temper.

"S-Sir?"

"Nothing you flashy fools! Get back to work!"

"Yes sir!" Buggy scowled to himself as he leaned back in his chair. How could he forget such a thing? At the very most, the boy had three wishes (granted that he hadn't already used one or two) and he sent out two of his men... Buggy knew the rules, but...

"Sir! There's something in the sky again! And it's falling this way!" Buggy looked up to see a humanoid figure falling towards him, and jumped back five feet just as Mohji crashed to the ground in front of him.

Buggy surveyed the damage to him with a grimace as his men gathered around in terror; obviously the genie was quite creative in wish granting, for Mohji to have half of his face looking like it had caved in on his skull. He began shaking Mohji, demanding answers as the tamer groaned.

"Mohji! What happened? That blasted genie did this, didn't he?" Mohji coughed.

"N-No sir... genie... wasn't with kid..." Buggy's eyebrows practically raised above his head. The genie wasn't even with him? "Kid... has power..." Then Mohji's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out completely. Buggy stood up straight, shouting at his men.

"Men! It seems as though the brat has some other form of power with him! Who knows what kind of devil he has up his sleeve? Prepare the cannon with the special cannonballs, and-" Buggy was cut off by Mohji's tiger scrambling up the roof and cowering behind his chair with a look of absolute terror on his face. Buggy slowly processed the mortified look on his face, and then turned back with a blank expression.

"SEND THE NEXT THING THAT MOVES TO A FLASHY DOOM!"

"YES SIR!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

The man trembled behind Luffy as he began gently slapping Usopp on his face.

"Usopp? Usooopp~? Wake up!" Usopp muttered to himself as he slowly came around.

"I swear I saw a field… Just like mom would tell me about... Do they even exist in this country?"

"Usopp! Wake up!" Usopp slapped away Luffy's hand as he slowly sat himself up.

"Alright, alright, I'm up. What happened?" Luffy grinned.

"You fell asleep when the tiger attacked. But what did you think of the pistol? Wasn't it cool?" Usopp had gone deathly pale as the past events finally came to his mind.

"W-Where's the tiger? Did you get it?" Luffy shrugged, pointing to a nice tiger-shaped dent in a nearby building.

"He ran away. But what about my new move?" Usopp twitched as he realized that Luffy found absolutely nothing wrong with sending an over-sized tiger into a building, and simply wanted praise for his odd rubber moves.

"I-It was really cool, Luffy…" That was when the mayor appeared to snap.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Luffy and Usopp blinked and turned to the mayor as he shakily got to his feet. He pointed with his spear at Luffy. "You!" Luffy pointed to himself in bewilderment.

"Me?"

"Yes! You! How the hell did you do that?" Luffy shrugged.

"Well, my grandpa kept beating me up and teaching me how to beat him up too. He did the same for Nii-san, and then Shanks showed us how to fight even better!" Usopp sweat dropped. Was the sultan really like that…? The mayor waved his spear about.

"I'm not talking about just the fighting; I'm talking about the _stretching_! How the hell did you stretch like that?" Luffy made an 'o' face and nodded, then pulled on his cheek and drew it back.

"See, Zoro said that I ate a devil fruit called a Gomu gomu fruit. So now I'm made of rubber! Cool, eh ossan?" The mayor's eye seemed to develop a nervous tick.

"Devil fruit…?"

"Yeah! But I gotta go; Nami told us to go after Buggy, and I need to kick his ass!" Luffy then grabbed Usopp's sleeve and took off down the street after where the tiger had gone. "Come on Usopp! Zoro could be there already!"

"… For some reason, I feel as though what you just said is the funniest thing ever…" The mayor stared after the two who seemed so willing to go after their own deaths.

Boodle decided that they were simply lying about that boy being the infamous Usopp; they really seemed like a couple of good (but strange) kids. So he hefted his spear and decided to attempt to save them from an untimely death, running after them.

"Oi kids, wait up!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zoro and Cabaji eyed each other as Nami slowly picked herself up, scowling slightly. What the hell was that genie doing here? Luffy could be dead by now and without any help, and then... Nami quickly reminded herself that Luffy most likely had the lamp, and Zoro was only a rub away from poofing to his aid. So instead Nami attempted to sneak away, only to be stopped by Cabaji's glare.

She simply sat against the wall and waited, telling herself to run at the first sign of him being too distracted to notice.

Cabaji noted her obedience with a nod and turned back to Zoro, raising an eyebrow as he thought of something. "Would this really be a fair fight, Roronoa?" Zoro blinked.

"Of course. I never divert from the swordsman code." Cabaji narrowed his eyes at him.

"No magic?" He confirmed. Zoro nodded, seeming almost offended that he had to ask.

"None at all. Despite being immortal, I'm not invincible, as your leader so boldly demonstrated." Cabaji scoffed.

"Only when the lamp itself is harmed. What happens to your person if stabbed?" Zoro seemed rather perplexed at the question.

"... I'm not sure. I've never had a chance to try it..." Then Zoro flipped his sword around and stabbed himself in the side.

Nami about shrieked when the sword went directly through Zoro's side, and nearly fainted when Zoro sighed in disappointment.

"Hmph, that's quite the problem." Zoro removed his sword, revealing a completely unharmed side. Cabaji scowled.

"That's also quite unfair."

"Tch. Tell me about it. I was hoping for a good fight. But I wonder..." Zoro then reached into his haramaki and pulled out his lamp, making Nami twitch from where she was.

"You still have your lamp with you?" Zoro seemed confused by her outburst.

"Yes, the idiot refused to hold it." Nami was on the verge of hysterics.

"But how are you supposed to know if he's in trouble? What if he's dying right now and needs to use a wish?" Zoro shrugged, looking over the lamp in contemplation.

"I suppose he'd die then. Makes things easier for me, at the very least." Nami stared at Zoro before slumping to the ground in a little cloud of doom, guilt returning in full force. Zoro then stared at the lamp in concentration. Cabaji seemed confused.

"What are you doing?" Zoro scowled at the interruption, but answered despite his concentration.

"The lamp holds a part of me, which is what holds me prisoner. I'm wondering if I can take a little bit of that back; or even give back some of its magic." As he spoke, the cuffs on his wrists began glowing an odd red color, and then dulled to an odd bronze shade instead of the usual gold tinge. Zoro nodded to himself as he placed the lamp on the ground near him, positioning his sword to stab himself again. "Let's try this again." Again he jammed his katana in his side.

He wasn't disappointed. This time the sword went through flesh and blood, dripping out the other side of him. Zoro winced at the pain, and beside him the lamp gave a loud 'crack'. Zoro took a deep breath and let it out, then smirked, pulling out his katana and showing the startled Cabaji his blood dripping on the blade.

"I believe we're now on even ground." Nami's jaw practically unhinged itself as Cabaji gave a laugh.

"You are every bit as I imagined you, Roronoa! I, too, often heard of your deeds. I'll take great pleasure in killing you!" With that Cabaji jammed his scimitar into the ground in front of him and swung it upwards, creating a veil of dust. "Murder Mist!" Zoro coughed as he looked around, eyes narrowed. Cabaji gave a dark chuckle from in the cloud.

"You may be an honorable swordsman, Roronoa, but I am no fool. You mercilessly slaughtered your opponents, and there were none that could surpass you. Perhaps you'll enjoy the show; it will be the last thing you remember!" At the last part a foot swung out from the dust, kicking Zoro directly in his stab wound. Zoro let out a 'grk' as he collapsed to his knees, his concentration breaking as the dust settled.

Cabaji sadly shook his head as he stepped forward. "To think you've been reduced to this: a genie. Most would envy such power flowing through their very beings, but I have nothing but pity!" Cabaji kicked Zoro in the side again, making him yell as he clutched his side. Nami could only look on in horror. "Look at you! You've been reduced to nothing but a slave that goes from master to master catering their every whim! There's nothing left of the great swordsman you used to be!" As he raised his foot to kick him again, Zoro suddenly brought his sword up and sliced Cabaji's leg from shin to thigh, making Cabaji cry out in startled pain and fall backwards on the ground. Zoro slowly got up, pointing his swords at Cabaji.

"Get up." When Cabaji failed to comply, he growled out "I don't fight sniveling people when they're down! I'm going to defeat you with all of the honor I have left, and show you just how much better a swordsman I am!" This got a snarl from Cabaji as he raised himself up.

"Don't be so cocky, Roronoa! That was only a cheap shot!"

"I sliced the body part that was closest to me; don't stick out your foot so much then." Cabaji growled and reached under his throat.

"Fire Trick!" Cabaji blew out and a cloud of fire flew into Zoro's face, making him jump backwards. He just barely blocked a swing from Cabaji's scimitar and pushed him back, rubbing his singed face.

"Some trick! Don't forget who has the real magic here!" Cabaji smirked.

"But you don't use magic in fights, do you? You've got ancient customs hammered into you and would never resort to such a thing! Nowadays we call that 'old school'." Zoro's eye twitched.

"I'm. Not. Old." Cabaji rolled his eyes.

"You're over a thousand years old; you think you'd get used to the idea by now. The old ways are obsolete!" Zoro growled and got into a stance.

"The 'old ways' will be your downfall! ONI..." Zoro clenched both swords at his sides and crouched down. "GIRI!" Zoro then appeared on the other side of Cabaji, and then slowly turned as he sheathed his swords.

Nami nearly screamed as Cabaji then exploded in blood, Zoro looking on in contempt. "Tch. I'm not old. Old people can't do that, now can they?" Nami stuttered.

"D-Did h-he..."

"No, he's not dead. Just weak."

"B-But you..." Zoro twitched.

"What? You want to call me old too?" Nami gulped and shook her head.

"No. Just... what was that?" Zoro sighed, fully turning to face her.

"That wasn't magic, if that's what you're asking; it was _real_ swordsmanship. Don't you have any real swordsman around here?" When Nami didn't reply he sighed. "And people wonder why I tried to leave the second I got here." Nami was curious despite herself.

"Why didn't you leave then?" Zoro's brow furrowed in angry confusion.

"Because this damned country kept moving the ocean around. Then all the towns kept getting mixed up; and then I found that cave."

"What cave? Was there treasure in it?" Zoro turned and gave her a searching glance, and then simply turned and began walking away after grabbing his lamp.

"No, there wasn't. There was nothing but an old slave in there." Nami blinked as he continued walking, and then called out.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find that clown guy; I'm meeting those two back there."

"... But you're going the wrong way..." Zoro turned and walked back, scowling.

"Damn desert! Would it kill itself to stay in one place?" Nami sweat dropped; suddenly she had a clear picture of how he ended up in this country... "Oi. You know how it moves; take me to where he is." Nami blinked then scowled.

"No! I came here for treasure, and I'm not about to throw it away to guide a directionally-challenged masochistic maniac back to his retarded master! And you're injured too!" Zoro shrugged and scratched his uninjured side.

"It's all better."

"IT'S STILL GUSHING BLOOD! WOUNDS DON'T HEAL AS QUICKLY IN HUMANS!"

"Oh, really? I thought I remembered them healing a lot faster before..."

"You're insane!"

"And you're still taking me back to the clown." Nami threw up her arms and scowled to the heavens.

"No! I'm getting my treasure and then I'm leaving behind this town! I'm not about to hang around some crazy-ass kid and his weird little group! I don't even know where he came from!"

"From East Blue palace, if you're so curious."

"And furthermore- **Did you say palace**?" Zoro thought that Nami must have had some magic herself with the way she practically teleported to his side with an eager expression on her face.

"Yeah, he's the prince. The lamp is a royal heirloom, after all." Nami stared straight ahead as she suddenly contemplated how ransom much a sultan would pay for his last living heir.

… Nami's eyes turned into the oddest sparkles Zoro had ever seen in his one thousand and seventy-eight years. He sweat dropped.

"Oi, you okay?" Nami then began twirling about Zoro in a very, very uncomfortable way for him.

"I'd _love_ to join your group~! Just let me grab my treasure and I'll lead you boys anywhere you want~!" Zoro's eye twitched slightly.

"... Right..." Nami turned and dashed into the mountainside behind them, grabbing up her staff.

"Don't worry and just stay put!" Zoro harrumphed at how crazy the little group was. But he really couldn't complain even after the girl came back with three sacks that were almost as large as himself, making him carry two of them as she led him back to town.

It was, after all, still the most excitement he'd seen since he first became a genie.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Boodle groaned as he realized that he had automatically taken the shortest route to where Buggy was and had left the two youths far behind. This left him in a decent position to stop them, sure, but it didn't help that the entire bandit group looked as though they were treading on eggshells.

So when Boodle experimentally kicked a small pebble in front of them, he wasn't _too_ surprised when half of the bandits cried out and began throwing daggers into the ground around it with deadly accuracy. What he didn't get was what could get a whole group of bandits so spooked, and to such desperation...

Then he noticed the tiger from before cowering behind Buggy's chair, and he nodded to himself. The kid. Obviously they thought that only a real monster could take out a tiger like that, and now they were fearing revenge. Boodle was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't noticed the two figures that came up behind him.

"Oi." Boodle let out a very (manly) shriek and jumped about five feet in the air before someone clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shhh!" A female voice hissed at him. "Are you trying to get us killed?" Boodle scowled and shoved off the hand.

"No. I was looking for your friends. I keep trying to stop them from coming here but then the tiger attacked and-"

"Tiger?" Boodle nodded.

"Yes, but he fought them off. He came running this way, saying something about kicking Buggy's ass..." The two exchanged a glance, and then Boodle noticed the large bags they were carrying. "You _robbed_ them?" Again a hand was placed over his mouth.

"Shhh!" Boodle's protests were cut off when the green-haired man handed two large sacks to him, dropping them when Boodle didn't take them.

"You can carry them then; I suddenly don't feel so good..." Boodle's eyes widened when he noticed his side.

"How can you lose so much blood?" Zoro's entire side was stained dark red, and there was a noticeable trail of blood from where they had been walking. Nami also looked and nearly shrieked, dropping her bag.

"Just how much blood do you have left?" Zoro's face was oddly pale for his complexion as he sat up against a wall.

"Not much now." Nami almost began shaking him.

"Why didn't you tell me you were bleeding so badly? You could die from blood loss!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes!"

"That's a problem then." Nami twitched.

"Why aren't you healing yourself like you did earlier?" Zoro scowled.

"I can't. I cut that off completely." Nami growled to herself, muttering about how men, no matter how powerful or old, were still men. She turned to Boodle.

"You! He needs bronze, now!" Boodle stuttered as Zoro slowly slumped over in the alley.

"I-I don't have any with me!"

"Errgh, I'm going to sleep..."

"Don't sleep! You'll never wake up!"

"NANI? Zoro won't wake up?" The three were interrupted by a loud voice that sent the bandits around the corner into a frenzy. Nami growled and turned to Luffy, who was staring at Zoro with a wide-eyed expression. "But Zoro can't sleep forever; he'd never be able to eat! And he hasn't eaten in years!"

"Oi, I haven't eaten either..." Usopp muttered from behind Luffy, also eying Zoro worriedly. Then a voice rang out from the bandits.

"FIRE THE SPECIAL BUGGY BALL, **NOW**!"

"You idiots!" Nami screeched just before a cannonball completely destroyed the building they were near, sending the rubble down on them. Zoro was completely unconscious by now, unable to save himself.

Instead Luffy took action, wrapping an arm around Zoro and Nami and another around Boodle and Usopp, and then he dashed out from the falling rubble and into the road in front of Buggy. Luffy glared up at Buggy as he dropped everyone.

"Oi you damned big nose! What the hell were you trying to do, kill us?" Buggy was not discouraged by their survival and laughed, showing all of his teeth.

"That was the idea kid! Hm... I'd wager you only have one wish left by now; and judging by the state of that genie, that's fading pretty quickly! You'd better hurry with that wish; you're only allowed to rub one lamp in your lifetime!" Luffy glared.

"Don't tell me what to do; I'm not using any wishes! I can kick your ass without using a single one!" Buggy glared down on him in silence.

"Impudence..." He growled, not noticing the figure slowly rise up behind him. Mohji groaned and picked himself up, and then when he realized his surroundings he gasped and stumbled to Buggy's side, pointing at Luffy.

"Sir! Be careful with him! He has some weird power with his arms!" Buggy turned to Luffy for confirmation, who grinned cheekily. Luffy tugged on a cheek, stretching it a good foot.

"I ate a devil fruit that I found in a mystery cave! Zoro was there too, and he said it was called a Gomu Gomu fruit, so now I'm-"

"Completely made of rubber." Buggy finished, looking down thoughtfully. Meanwhile Nami was groaning at how much more complicated her plans of kidnap were becoming, and instead opted to silently mourn the loss of her treasure to half a ton of rubble. Buggy continued on, staring at Luffy with narrowed eyes.

"That makes cannon fire completely useless... But there's one thing I don't understand boy; I didn't realize that your genie was from the Cave of Wonders!" Luffy tilted his head in confusion.

"How'd you know that? Were you there too? Did you meet the mystery ossan? I can't remember his name..." Buggy smirked.

"I think I know this 'mystery ossan' quite well, boy. But I believe I know your name now; Luffy D. Monkey isn't it?" Luffy grinned and nodded.

"Yeah! Do I know you?" Buggy shook his head sadly.

"This kingdom's going downhill when the crown prince goes tramping around the desert and picking fights with bandits... And one raised by Akagami Shanks, no less! I bet that's even his hat right there!" Luffy reached up to touch his hat, and stared at Buggy thoughtfully. Boodle was staring at Luffy with his jaw touching the dirt; he was telling the truth?

"Do you know Shanks?" Buggy spat as he recollected the memory.

"Of course I know that flashy bastard! He still owes me three wishes! Back before he became a free genie, that is." Luffy's eyes widened considerably, and he nearly tottered backwards at what Buggy was saying.

"Shanks... is a genie?" Buggy smirked and sat himself back, with everyone but the unconscious Zoro giving him their undivided attention.

"It started back in my days as a cabin boy, about twenty-five years ago..."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Buggy yelped as the crew of the ship ran about, nearly running the teen over. Buggy rubbed his grazed large nose and snarled at them

"Watch where you're going you flashy idiots!" The crew only laughed, used to Buggy's rage. One of them then shoved a mop into Buggy's hands, still laughing.

"Just go mop up the cargo, big nose."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A BIG NOSE YOU BASTARD?" Buggy was only brushed off and he stormed to the cargo hold, growling under his breath. "Call me a big nose... I'll show them! They all came sailing for great riches, eh? I'll find my own fortune! I'll be the richest bastard alive!" Buggy looked over the cargo with a thoughtful gleam in his eye; if he started saving up now...

Without a second thought Buggy began tearing through the crates, growling to himself at how few items there were that were anything other than steel or iron. He picked up another dagger and scowled.

"No wonder these idiots are broke; there's nothing good to trade around here!" With that thought in mind, he threw the dagger as hard as he could at a wall, noting with satisfaction as it dug deep into the wood. Buggy then tensed as one of the crew called

"Oi Buggy! What's going on down there?" Buggy hurriedly scooped the items back in the crates and ran over to the dagger, eeping in horror when it refused to come out. The footsteps sounded closer to the door and Buggy gave one final heave, and the dagger came out then, the force sending Buggy backwards into another stack of crates. The door opened just then, revealing Buggy collapsed with a stack of crates spilling their contents all over the floor. The man turned an unhealthy shade of red at the mess.

"BUGGY!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Buggy grumbled to himself as he picked up the scattered weapons, making sure to place them in the correct crates. Luckily the man hadn't discovered his original intentions of stealing their stock, but he still had to clean up the mess he had caused.

Buggy muttered to himself about stupid sailors (especially ones that had such questionably obtained wares) and kicked a dagger at his feet, slapping himself in the forehead when it flew over and stabbed itself with an audible 'thud' in the back of the hold.

Buggy walked over and groaned at the fact that the dagger had lodged itself into a small crack in a small crate, and he grabbed the handle and began tugging, albeit a bit more carefully than last time.

Instead the entire lid of the crate came off with a snap. Buggy yelped and swung around the dagger, still embedded in the lid, but then stopped when he got a good look at the crate's contents.

Inside the crate was a small, reddish lamp. When Buggy held it up to the light for appraisal, he stuck out his tongue at it.

"Feh. Copper." But Buggy continued to look it over, staring oddly at the three odd scratches on its side. When he ran his finger over them, they were as smooth as the rest of the lamp, but an odd, grey color; as though someone had once gouged out three perfectly even slivers of the lamp, and had been filled in with an unmatching metal that warped the copper around it.

In all, it didn't look like it could sell for more than a few bucks. Buggy rubbed away a bit of the grime nonetheless, perhaps an average joe could mistake it for some other form of metal or- Buggy then dropped the lamp and jumped back as an odd red smoke began pouring out of the lamp's spout, rising to the ceiling of the hold and doubling back on itself. As though the smoke couldn't decide where to go, it instead began swirling in on itself and slowly taking the form of a human standing on top of a stack of crates.

Buggy nearly jumped out of his skin when the figure stretched his arms to the ceiling with a large yawn, then turned and regarded Buggy with a friendly smile.

"Hey kid, congratulations! You've found a genie!" The man jumped down in front of the gobsmacked Buggy, holding out a hand to shake. The other hand was busy fixing the odd straw hat that rested on his bright red hair, giving his scarred eye an almost eerie look even as he looked at Buggy with all the carefree happiness in the world. He laughed at the look on Buggy's face, grinning.

"Name's Shanks. Akagami Shanks. What can I do for you?"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

I guess Buggy likes telling stories...? Really, really long stories. Meh, I don't think I did him justice; and he's my favorite One Piece villain! But because of Oda-sensei's great genius, he isn't _really_ a villain, and yet he is! And he's completely reinvented the term 'reoccurring character.' Because Buggy did not _reoccur_, he came with the flashiest sequel that was twice as amazing as his first happenings! HE'S FREAKING COOL, YO.

… Yes, I made Shanks into a genie. Please don't kill me? :DDD I imagine Shanks as a genie would be similar to the Genie from Aladdin; still wanting freedom, but having a hell of a good time as long as he has to grant wishes anyway!

When you read Nami's revelation of how much Luffy would be worth, picture a very Sanji-like twirl around Zoro. Then giggle at the expression on his face.

Personally I think that Zoro would have a soft spot about his age (he was only nineteen when he got genie-fied, BTW, but it would be rather unnaturally coincidental if he was _just_ turning 1019 when this whole thing happened. 1078 is a bit more realistic, if you know what I mean). Even if being called old is only bad until you reach 200. Then at 201 it's just plain cool. Zoro didn't get the memo, unfortunately.

Okay, okay. I don't like Zoro's general interaction with Cabaji. **AT ALL**. But if I recall correctly most countries in the middle east had a _very _low opinion of slaves during this time, and Zoro is, for all intents and purposes, a very unwilling slave. That's why it's a little darker than the original version. And as for the whole lamp thing... What Zoro did in the fight was cut off his own healing abilities for his human self, conscious or unconscious, and in a way connected himself to his lamp so that any injuries would carry themselves over to his lamp and vice-versa. Where did he learn such a thing?

… He's Roronoa Zoro, biotches. xD

All in all, Zoro has officially rendered himself completely vulnerable to attacks on both his lamp _and_ his human form (he can't dip his fingers in molten liquid anymore, sadly); and now the only way to heal himself is to let his body heal naturally or fix the lamp. That is the main point of that retarded fight between him and Cabaji, because it would be really weird for an all-powerful genie to suddenly go completely vulnerable in later chapters without any kind of explanation.

**And because I completely screwed myself into a corner with my timeline, I need to go back and edit some wording in the first chapter. Quick explaining thing: Instead of Garp coming back right before he was married and had a kid (and then his kid had a kid, this would be at the very least about 40-45 years before now) he actually found a girl **_**during**_** his travels and sent back his baby son (Dragon as a baby; dawww) to live in the kingdom. Due to mysterious circumstances when Garp returned twenty years later (God knows why he took so long to go back home; maybe because the kingdom was already being ruled), he only found that Dragon had left the palace and left behind his baby son, Luffy. Ace was adopted somewhere in Garp's travels, in fact, as a promise to a certain friend.**

**KEEP THIS IN MIND. That is all.**

Special thanks to bookishangel, Kelesnya, Kerykeion, Neko11, Son of Whitebeard, eternitybeckons, and cb for your amazing reviews~! SEVEN REVIEWS IN THREE DAYS; I SWEAR I DIED.

**Next time on Arabian Nights: Buggy's three wishes, and the consequences of a wish! Despite enjoying his wish-granting to the full extent of his ten thousand year old life, Shanks can't help but have his own wishes... And his own regrets. But it wasn't like it was _all_ his fault, right?**

HA! Now _that_ was so vague you can't _possibly _know what I'm talking about! :D Guess you'll just have to wait until next time...


	7. Wish

Oh wow... NINE REVIEWS WITHIN 24 HOURS OF ME POSTING THE LAST CHAPTER. I feel so loved~! TT3TT Although you all may hate me for this chapter...

So I'm keeping my AN to a minimum, as I don't _really_ need to explain much of what's in here. I just hope you enjoy chapter seven! But keep this one thing in mind:

While the themes of the original East Blue saga are more on treasures (Luffy's hat, Nami's village, Sanji's Baratie, etc.) this is actually focused on Aladdin's theme of freedom! That's a good reason for a lot of my changes, as you may hopefully realize as I go along further in the story!

Disclaimer! I do not own One Piece or Aladdin! BAM, there it is.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"**That's it—three. No substitutions, exchanges or refunds."**

**~Genie**

Buggy's jaw worked up and down a few times, but still no words managed to get out. Eventually the man in front of him shrugged and dropped his offered hand, looking around oddly.

"Huh, a ship. Haven't been on one for a few masters. You a sailor kid?" Shanks scratched his head when Buggy still didn't answer. "Okay, I know my appearance was a little grandiose, but I'm not _that_ scary, I swear!" Buggy twitched.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Shanks blinked.

"I'm a genie. You _are_ the one that rubbed the lamp, aren't you?" Shanks pulled up his sleeve and stared at the cuff on his wrist, tapping it before nodding to himself. "Yeah, you are. Just slow. That's an amazing nose kid; how'd it get so red?" Buggy snarled at the man.

"Are you making fun of my nose you flashy bastard?" Shanks held up his hands in surrender.

"Not at all. I'm just saying..." Buggy eventually calmed enough for him to realize what had happened. He slowly reached down and picked up the lamp, noting how the scratched on the side matched the odd scars over the man's eye.

"So... you're a genie, eh?" Shanks smiled.

"Yep! Three wishes of your own choice!" Buggy frowned.

"Three? Only three? Are there any other things I should know about?" Shanks held up three fingers.

"Along with the whole three wishes gig, there are three rules you should know about. One: I can't kill anybody. Two: I can't make anyone fall in love. And three: I can't bring people back from the dead. And when I say you only get three wishes, I mean that for your entire lifetime. You can't go find another genie to grant another three wishes, and you can't find another genie to grant your original three. Other than that..." Shanks trailed off as footsteps began sounding, and he gave Buggy one final warning before vanishing. "Be careful what you wish for; I don't do refunds." Buggy stared at where the man had been before hastily shoving the lamp inside his coat just as one of the sailors came down.

"Oi, Buggy. You done yet?" Buggy whirled and cursed under his breath. He hadn't... finished? Instead of the colossal mess he had yet to complete, Buggy turned to find the sailor standing among a stack of crates completely filled with what had previously been scattered all over the floor. The sailor gave a nod.

"Not bad, big nose. Most people would never treat kids to alcohol when they finish a job so efficiently. As it is..." Despite his words, the man reached into his coat and tossed a bottle to Buggy. "I believe in all sailors learning to hold their rum. See you at dinner, boy." The man slammed the door behind him, Buggy staring first at the bottle in his hand and then turning back to the crates. He sighed and turned only to yelp to see Shanks standing right behind him, looking at the bottle with a fiercely thirsty look on his face.

"Are you going to drink that?" Buggy looked at the bottle in his hands before slowly shaking his head and offering it to the genie. Shanks snatched it, uncorked it, and was pouring it down his throat faster than Buggy could blink. When the bottle was empty Shanks held up the bottle with a huge grin on his face.

"Ha! It's been a while before I had any rum! Thanks kid!" He grinned and folded his arms across his chest. "So you gonna ask for wishes, or are you going to have to think about it?" Buggy stared hard at him.

"Of course I'm going to think about it! But you aren't going to leave before I get my wishes, are you?" Shanks shook his head.

"Nah, that's against the rules. You don't mind if I wander around the ship while you think, do you? All you have to do is rub the lamp and I'll come!" Buggy's eye twitched as Shanks looked at him with pleading eyes. He turned to walk away, waving his hand.

"Pfft. Do whatever you want. Just don't forget your promise!" Shanks whooped like a little kid.

"You got it!" He then vanished, and Buggy walked out of the room with a smirk on his face.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Buggy stormed into the galley when the bell for dinner rang two hours later, a scowl on his face. For all of his careful thinking, for all of his creative ideas, he still couldn't think of three wishes. The first should have been obvious; get rid of the red clown nose that had plagued him all of his life. But it seemed so trivial compared to the possibilities, and Buggy only had three wishes. Then another possibility would be all of the treasure he could ever want; but Buggy would probably have to get off the ship first (he didn't trust the sailors), and they were still a few days from port.

So Buggy grabbed his food from the irate cook and muttered consolations to himself under his breath. He was sure they'd come to him...

"Hey Buggy! Over here!" Buggy blinked and looked up. No one disturbed him when he went to sit at his usual table, and he usually sat alone. So he was quite surprised to see a redhead boy, about the same age as himself, waving from an otherwise empty table. Buggy squinted his eyes at him; though he looked somewhat familiar, he could have sworn he'd never seen him before...

"What's the matter with you, big nose? You always sit with your friend!" Buggy twitched at the name, turning to the sailor beside him.

"Big nose? Wait... What do you mean I always sit with him? I don't know him!" The sailor rolled his eyes.

"Don't get smart with me, boy. You always hang out with Shanks, ever since we picked him up along with you! Go sit with your friend and stop acting so damned predictable!" The sailor rolled his eyes and returned to his table, and Buggy huffed and was about to follow him with insults about his disillusionment before his words sank in.

"Shanks?" Buggy turned and stared at the boy with a his mouth wide open; now that he thought about it, the boy had the same hair and hat as the genie, although the scar was long gone. Buggy stiffly walked over to him and sat down. Shanks looked up from where he was stuffing his food in his mouth and gave the same familiar grin, swallowing.

"Hey! This food is great! I might be a little biased, though, seeing how I haven't really had any food for a few thousand years..."

"What the hell did you do to them?" Buggy hissed. Shanks shrugged.

"Just a little mind trick; they think I've been here as long as you have. Pretty neat, eh? Don't worry; it'll go away after I'm gone. Still thinking about those wishes?" Buggy harrumphed, ignoring his food.

"I just don't want to make the wrong wish and end up regretting it! Why are you so young now?"

"Oh! See, the story I planted in them is that I came on as a cabin boy with you, so I figured I'd have to be the same age, right? Simple enough; although the scar never went away. I'm just hiding it." As Shanks spoke the skin around his left eye rippled slightly, briefly showing Buggy his scar before it faded away. "It'd be a little weird for me to get a scar like that when I'm still this age." Buggy nodded slightly.

"So it would. I'll admit I'm having problems with the wishes; this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, you know! Regretting it is the last thing I want to do for the rest of my life." Shanks grinned.

"That's the idea. Just take your time; I do love seeing the world. When's the next port?"

"A few days from now. Why can't you see the world without someone to rub the lamp? Aren't genies supposed to be all-powerful?" Shanks' grin slowly faded away and he sighed.

"Never think that being a genie is a good life, kid. All-powerful in every way, but the greatest and only flaw is our own damnation." Buggy grimaced at the serious look on Shanks' face; he'd never been too good with melancholy people. So instead he demanded what right Shanks had to call him a kid. Shanks smirked.

"I can call you a toddler for how young you are! You're what, thirteen?"

"I'm _fifteen_ bastard! You only looked about twenty five yourself!" Shanks laughed at the indignant look on Buggy's face.

"Actually I'm ten thousand, five hundred and sixty-three years old! I could even call you an infant, baka!" Shanks continued laughing, something that, after recovering from gaping at the genie, Buggy found himself about throttling the boy about. The sailors at a nearby table laughed to themselves at the sight of Buggy strangling the laughing redhead.

"There they go again. Fighting as usual, the idiots."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

A few days later, Buggy was very, very frustrated with himself. He hadn't had the chance to think of a single wish without backing out at the last second, and he could only rant about it to the genie when he was asked.

And he had only been asked once or twice, and then the genie soon forgot about asking at all. That day a port soon was in sight on the horizon, and Shanks was as excited as his disguised age about seeing land. Even younger, actually.

"So what country are we in?"

"Feh. How should I know?"

"You're a sailor too!"

"And you're too old to act like that!"

"As if! You're too young to act so sulky; lighten up!" Buggy twitched and grabbed the front of Shanks' shirt.

"You need to grow up!" Shanks shoved off Buggy in mock anger.

"And you need to get over it!" This soon dissolved into blows, though if anyone was really paying attention they would notice that the redhead had a huge smile on his face the entire time, something that really irritated the teen Buggy. Eventually they collapsed on the deck just as they pulled up to the harbor, and each was yanked to his feet by a sailor.

"Let's go, brats. We're heading to the bar, and yes, Shanks, you can come provided you don't puke." Shanks gave a cheer and practically flew off the ship along with the group. Buggy followed, having nothing better to do, and simply sulked in a corner of the bar while the rest of the crew began drinking themselves to kingdom come. However, when Shanks accidentally looked up at Buggy with a smirk over his third mug of rum, Buggy took it as a personal challenge.

An hour later, the two slammed down their mugs in unison, both having red cheeks that complimented their oddly colored heads.

"You'll... ***hic* **never beat me!" Shanks slurred; being human gave him a very human limit to how much alcohol he could tolerate: about five mugs ago. "I'm all-pummelfull!" Had Buggy been sober he would have snootily corrected him. Or might have mentioned that Shanks' concentration was broken, and the scar over his eye was now completely visible.

As it were, he only attempted a snort which resulted in a very loud hiccup. "Suuure, and I'm all-clowniful! You haven't done a shingle powerful thing, beshides make the shailors ***hic* **crazy!" Buggy cackled at his words. "And they already were!" Shanks laughed right along with him.

"I'll bet they are! I'm not _allowed_ to do all-powerful things, either. Dems da rules!" Buggy snickered.

"You alwaysh go on 'bout rules! The hell is with that, anyway? You like a shlave or something?" Shanks' face turned comically tragic.

"Yesh, slave indeed! Always having to go 'poof' for shome baka or another! They don' even let me have rum or sake!" Shanks practically sobbed, and Buggy gasped very out of character like.

"No rum?"

"None! And I'm stuck like this for... ***hic***" Shanks spread out his arms "For forever! Being a genie is a shentence for all eternity!" Shanks' arms dropped to his sides, and he sighed. "Did I ever tell you about this one mashter I had, about a thousand years ago?" Buggy shook his head, eyeing his mug absentmindedly.

"Never menshened any. Why? What did he wish for?" Shanks sadly shook his head.

"Poor devil. He only had one wish, and he shaid it in the mosht desperate way possible! He wanted... the ultimate power!" Shanks slammed his mug on the counter, eyes practically ablaze. "He told me that because he had no other choice, because he was unable to find it on his own, he would just have to wish for it as a lasht resort! I tried to tell him..." Shanks sobbed into his arm, and Buggy looked at him in confusion.

"Everyone wants power. What's sho bad 'bout the ultimate one?" Shanks' eyes flashed and he jumped up and snapped at Buggy.

"Because it means becoming a genie! And that is the worst wish anyone would grant!" Buggy stood as well, curious despite Shanks' tone.

"And you actually gave it to him? You actually turned him into a genie?"

"I had to! Not granting a wish is something that is physically impossible! I'll always have to grant a wish, no matter what the cost later on! You'll eventually get your own wishes, and I'll go back to my itty bitty living space for at least another fifty years!" Buggy patted Shanks' back.

"Well, at least I can't really think of them... Keepsh shlippin' way, you know? I don' wanna regret any wish I make... What should I wish for, anyway?" Shanks laughed.

"If I were you, I wouldn't wish for anything! I can't see why anyone goes looking for genies; you already have the one thing that any genie would give anything to have!" Buggy blinked rapidly.

"What do I have? I was born with a big, red noshe, I'm shtuck with a bunch of 'questionable' shailors, and I don't have a penny to my name!" Shanks turned and looked at him sadly.

"You have freedom, kid. Free to make your own choices, to be your own master! I've been a genie for..." Shanks quickly counted his fingers, and after a bit of thinking continued on. "Ten thousand, five hundred and twenty-six years, and I don't want anything more than to be free! Such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world! I'd give anything for it!" Buggy wiped away a tear after Shanks had finished.

"That was beautiful! Bartender!" Buggy called out. "We need shome more rum!" When the bartender reluctantly complied ("Aren't you boys too young to be drinking?" Which was met with a death glare that had her obeying) Buggy raised up his mug.

"To freedom!" Shanks grinned and held up his own mug.

"To freedom! I'll be free some day, I know it! The day will come!" The two clinked their mugs together and proceeded to have the latest night ever, drinking themselves into a near-coma.

Neither ever forgot that last toast; it was the last night they ever spent together.

**O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"Ohhh, so you lost Shanks after that?" Buggy's eyes focused on his present surroundings, angry at the interruption. Buggy snarled at Luffy.

"I'm getting to that part! Don't interrupt me, dammit!" Meanwhile the long nosed boy was sitting beside Nami and Zoro, muttering to himself in disbelief. Nami was slowly taking the story in with wide eyes, while Zoro was still unconscious.

"So Luffy was raised by a genie... Wait," He held up his hands. "You said Shanks was a free genie! So why did he still have to grant you your wishes?" Buggy growled under his breath at the memories.

"He wasn't free at the time; and he wasn't free until a while later." Luffy suddenly went wide-eyed as something occurred to him.

"You mean genies can be freed? How?" Buggy threw up his hands.

"I TOLD YOU I'M GETTING TO THAT PART!"

"No, you said you were getting to the part where you lost Shanks..."

"IT WAS THE SAME TIME!" Luffy nodded in understanding, then grinned up at Buggy.

"Well, then keep going! What happened next?" Buggy twitched at the grin; it was far too familiar for his liking. He continued nonetheless.

"It turned out that the sailors I was with were... not exactly legit in their ways of getting stock. The latest shipment we had gotten were from a bandit that authorities in the same country had been tracking, and we were attacked the next day after they had searched our ship to find our illegal ware..."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Buggy awoke the next day with a splitting headache, voices that would normally mean something now only annoying jumbled noises. One in particular was right above him, and he waved a hand as he moaned.

"Go 'way... Shleepy." Buggy muttered then rolled back over on the wooden floor. Instead he was roughly yanked to his feet and a dagger was held to his throat.

"Get up!" A fog seemed to fly from Buggy's mind as the cold steel pressed against his throat, and his eyes widened when he saw what was happening.

Men were invading the bar, all carrying scimitars and hovering over the drunken sailors. Buggy didn't know at the time, but they were the authorities of the country, and men that had every right to arrest the sailors. The sailors that were, in fact, pirates. One by one, the men pressed their bladed weapons to the sailors' throats and forced them into submission.

Then one of them got to the passed-out Shanks.

Shanks moaned as they yanked him up, seemingly not aware of the dagger at his throat as he grabbed his fallen hat nearby.

"Errgh, what hit me? Someone get a name for the face on that carpet?" When the dagger was pressed harder in warning, Shanks only waved it away. "Ugh. Stop that. I haven't had a hangover in years; that's one helluva kick." The man snarled at him.

"Boy, you need to wake up!" Shanks wearily opened his eyes, and when he finally seemed to grasp the situation he blinked.

"Buggy? What's going on?" Buggy trembled, eyeing the hand holding the dagger to his throat.

"I-I don't k-know..." Shanks nodded.

"Right then. So it's okay if I do this." Shanks whirled and breathed in... and then spat out a flame (that was perhaps a bit more red than it should be) right into his attacker's face. The man yelped and jumped back, eyes wide, but unharmed.

"D-Devil!" Shanks smirked and picked up the dagger where it had fallen.

"I'm not really allowed to save these nice people, but it doesn't mean I can't give you hell for attacking _me_!" With that, Shanks lunged at the man, giving a false stab with the dagger, and then instead ducking under the scimitar and giving the man an uppercut to the chin.

And the man flew back fifteen feet into the wall.

The rest of the men stared wide-eyed at the still-young boy who was twirling the dagger with a challenging smirk.

"Come and get me!" The remaining men not watching over the sailors gave a yell and charged him at once, making him sadly shake his head. "Really, some people these days. Blow a little fire in their faces, and then they all gang up on you!" Then he vanished, making the men stop and stare incredulously at where he had been.

"Over here!" The men whirled at the unfamiliar voice, and stopped in their tracks.

Shanks had dropped his disguise, instead settling back into his proper age, with the scar over his eye now more fully-pronounced. The dagger in his hand was thrown into the the floor, and then the men's own blades joined it, yanking themselves out of the startled men's hands.

The weapons then all melted and reformed, creating a full-length saber that Shanks pulled out of the ground. He grinned at his would-be attackers.

"I think that's a bit more fair, then. _Now_ you can all gang up on me." They were hesitant, but soon complied.

Buggy's eyes widened, not noticing his attacker jump in the fight as well. Shanks was, despite the ever-increasing numbers against him, _winning_. And he was having the time of his life, too, if his grin was anything to go by. Buggy was so into the fight that he didn't notice a new figure arrive.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Shanks and the men paused, all turning back to the door. The man standing there had a hulking frame, though he was completely unarmed. This spoke nothing about the almost mad glint in his eyes as he surveyed the damage, reaching up to scratch the scar above his eye. "Shit! I leave you idiots alone in a job that was literally as easy as lifting a sword to their throats! I have half a mind to call off the arrest and just beat you all senseless for your display!" The men all trembled.

"G-Garp sir..." Garp scowled at them all, growling under his breath. Shanks blinked at him.

"Arrest?" Garp stared at him incredulously.

"Of course this is an arrest! You're all pirates, dumbass! But that was some handy work with a blade! Really skinned my men there! Bwahahaha!" His men sweat dropped as his personality seemed to take a 180 degree turn, leaving him laughing as though someone had just told him the funniest joke alive. Much to their surprise, Shanks began laughing right along with him.

"Got that right, Jii-san! I bet I could whip your ass too!" Garp guffawed, looking at him with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Is that a challenge, brat?" Shanks' eyes took on the same glint.

"You bet it is! Don't know anything about these people being pirates, but what I wouldn't give for a good fight! Sure you don't need a weapon?" Garp instead charged at Shanks with his fist outstretched.

"They don't call me 'Garp the Fist' for my kicks!"

The battle was cut short from Buggy's mind as the men, now properly relieved of the troublesome redhead, returned to arresting the sailors. When the man got to Buggy, he immediately began searching Buggy's pockets. Buggy stuttered.

"H-Hold on! I didn't know they were all pirates! This was just the only job I could land!" The man snorted.

"Yeah, kid, whatever. It's called 'Guilty by Association'. Oh? What's this?" The man then pulled out Shanks' lamp, staring at it with a greedy glint in his eye. "This looks like it could sell for a pretty penny. How would anyone but a pirate get their hands on something like this?" Buggy snarled and lunged at him.

"That's MINE!" The man held it just out of reach.

"Ah! Don't be that way! I'm confiscating it legally, after all!" Buggy growled out

"But it's only _copper_, you flashy idiot!" The man blinked and gave it another long look, then hmmphed and shook his head.

"Ha! You're just trying to get me to give it back! I know copper wouldn't be so resistant to scratches, and look!" The man the grabbed the dagger he had confiscated from Buggy and drew the blade over the entire length of the lamp, leaving behind a long scratch, much to the man's surprise.

And then the two were attracted by a yell.

"**AAAAGH!**" Buggy whirled to see Shanks crying out, dropping the saber as Garp jumped back. Blood was running down Shanks' side, and at a closer look they could see that a long trail of blood was along his entire side from leg to shoulder. Shanks fell to the ground in a pool of blood as Garp stared at him in disbelief.

"The hell?" Buggy's attacker stared at the scratched lamp, then back to the matching trail on the redhead. His face grew in a smirk.

"Well then, a genie, eh? This ought to be good!" The man then threw the lamp to the floor and slammed his foot over the scratch; making it break into a long crack.

Garp wasn't exactly the brightest guy in the world; any of the men under his command could tell you that. So when the man in front of him cried out in agony, spraying blood as though practically gutted, just as the words 'genie' reached his ears, he was very, very confused. Until he turned to the speaker for an explanation, and noticed exactly what he was attempting to do. Perhaps Garp wasn't too smart, but he was easily able to connect the dots between the large crack in the lamp and the man covered in blood behind him; the impossible was a factor that never registered in his mind. So he immediately punched out the offending man; he was hurting his sparring partner in a very inhumane way, and Garp would be damned if it went on any longer. Beside him the boy with the red nose ran over to Shanks in disbelief.

"Shanks! What the hell?" Shanks coughed, spitting out blood.

"I'll be fine kid. It's the lamp. The lamp is doing this! Don't let him destroy it! It'll kill me!" Buggy whirled to see Garp picking up the broken lamp carefully, and then lunged forward.

"Hands off the lamp, buster! That's mine!" Garp only held out a fist which Buggy ran right into. Garp looked down at the fallen Buggy and grinned.

"You got spirit, don't you big nose? Bwahahaha! But I believe you, you aren't a pirate, are you? Best get out of here then; wouldn't want you completely guilty by attacking the authorities!" Garp waved off his protests. "This lamp does something to that man, right? We'll fix up your friend! Just hurry up before I pound ya!" Buggy stared at him in disbelief, then turned back to see Shanks shakily giving him a thumbs up.

"Hurry up kid, I'll be okay!" Shanks dissolved into a coughing fit, and Buggy was about to turn and demand the lamp back before the men decided that they still needed to arrest him. When they charged him, Buggy threw all doubts to the wind and ran out the door, effectively leaving behind the men.

He never did see what happened to Shanks then; didn't see how Garp stood over the fallen Shanks as his men (minus the one punted into the wall) carted away the surrendered pirates, didn't see how Shanks looked up with weary eyes as Garp slowly placed the lamp next to his head with a sad smile.

"Genie, eh? Tough break. I heard there was a way around it, if you would care to share such information with me. Never did like the whole slavery gig." Buggy also didn't see how Shanks' eyes lit up, and how his mouth slowly formed a large grin.

"Well, there _is_ one way..."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Later that day, Buggy carefully watched from the bushes as he planned his retrieval of the lamp. The men that had taken it were all unloading Buggy's ship, and the sailors were all tied up on the back of a cart nearby. Buggy only spared them a single glance; he never cared much for them, anyway. And he never did have an idea of their pirating. All he had to do was find that one guy that took the lamp in the first place, and then he'd get back his wishes-

"Hey Buggy!" Buggy yelped and jumped about five feet in the air, whirling and holding up his arms in surrender at the same time.

"DON'T HURT ME!" The man laughed, and Buggy realized with a jolt that it was Shanks himself. "Shanks?" Shanks grinned.

"Hey kid, miss me?" Buggy gaped as he looked up and down the full length of the man. He was completely fine, now! Damn him for making him not really worry!

"What the hell happened back there?" Buggy instead demanded. Shanks grinned; he seemed a lot happier than usual. For him, that was really saying something.

"I did it! I got free!" Shanks laughed and threw out his arms. "It's all over! I'm completely free from that lamp!" Buggy stared at him in wonder, then scowled as something occurred to him.

"That's it? You're free now? What about my wishes, eh?" Shanks' smile faltered and he looked down at his hands thoughtfully.

"That's the thing, kid. My magic's gone. Well, not _gone_ gone, but more of unaccessible temporarily. Just like my one friend told me; he's a free genie, too. Never really goes away, he said, but it remains locked for a while. Said it would come back after a while, if I really tried for it. But..." Buggy's eyes flared.

"Gone? How long does the magic take to come back?" Shanks shrugged.

"Maybe a year, maybe an eternity. Depends on the effort I put into getting it. But listen," Shanks turned and grinned at Buggy, who was still in shock about his lost wishes. "The ossan told me something. He's a sultan of his own country! He said he's going to go as far as the world can go, then go back home and take care of his family. He asked me to come with him, Buggy, and I want to know if you want to come too! After all, it's thanks to you that I met him!" Buggy held up his hands and backed away.

"Nooo way! I am _not_ going with that nut case, sultan or not! I may not get my wishes, but I'll still get all the treasures in the world! I'll become the richest bastard alive!" Shanks smiled slightly.

"Then I guess this is goodbye, eh kid? Sorry I didn't get you your wishes, but maybe we'll meet again sometime. Maybe I'll have a little magic back by then." Buggy harrumphed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't count on it." Shanks smiled slightly, then made a face as he thought of something.

"Say, you ever heard of the East Blue?" When Buggy shook his head, Shanks explained. "It's supposed to be the richest kingdom in the east; a place filled to the brim with caves full of treasures." Buggy's ears perked up at that. "It's where he's the sultan, but I thought if you want a good start, you could always head over there. As it is..." Shanks jammed his hands in his pockets.

"That's where I left that one master I told you about, the one that wished for the ultimate power and I turned into a genie. He was trapped later in a cave called the Cave of Wonders. Only royalty can get in there..." Shanks trailed off, a sad look on his face. "If you ever meet him, could you pass along a message for me?" Shanks took Buggy's silence as a 'maybe'.

"I need you to tell him..."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"... That I'm sorry." Buggy finished, looking down at Luffy in contempt. "And then the idiot went away, and I never saw him again. I never got my three wishes! All because your grandfather decided to free him then and there!" Luffy looked up with excitement in his eyes.

"So there _is_ a way to free genies! How? Did he mention it?" Buggy smirked.

"Maybe he did, and maybe he didn't!" When he didn't elaborate further Luffy tilted his head to the side.

"So... did you forget?"

"NO I DIDN'T FORGET! I'M SAYING THAT I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU!" Luffy's eyes flashed and he smirked.

"Why didn't you say so? I'll just have to beat it out of you!" Buggy laughed.

"Don't get so cocky! I'm still up here, and you're still down there... AN UMOVING TARGET!" Buggy turned to his men. "FIRE THE CANNON!" Apparently forgetting his assessment of the effectiveness of cannonballs on rubber men (although no one was willing to correct him), Buggy had his men light the fuse as the cannon was pointed directly at Luffy. Usopp began tugging Luffy's arm.

"Come on! We need to get out of here! We'll all die!" Luffy smirked, not looking away from the barrel of the cannon.

"You think a cannon will make me forget? I'm going to kick his ass like I promised! Get Zoro out of here!" Usopp was pushed away, and he groaned to himself, grabbing one of Zoro's arms and tugging him away.

"Oi, Nami! Help me out!" Nami jolted from where she was staring at Luffy in confusion and grabbed Zoro's other arm. Meanwhile the fuse burned down and the cannonball shot itself at Luffy. Luffy sucked in a deep breath, inflating himself to a morbid size.

"Gomu gomu no... Balloon!" The cannonball bounced into Luffy's inflated stomach, then bounced right back into the roof, leaving Buggy to suddenly realize his mistake.

**BOOM!**

Nami and Usopp yelled as the debris rained around the small alley they hid themselves in. Usopp trembled as he looked out.

"L-Luffy? Are you okay?" Luffy looked back to them and gave a thumbs up.

"Just take care of Zoro until I get back!" Usopp huddled back in the alley, where Nami was wrapping a piece of cloth around Zoro's stab wound.

"Got anymore cloth? He can't afford to lose anymore blood; it's a miracle he's still alive!"

"Pfft, I'm just unusually lucky..." The two blinked as they realized Zoro had spoken, and they looked down to see his eyes still closed. Usopp poked his face.

"You're awake?" Zoro only twitched.

"Can't really move... losing blood is bad, isn't it?" Nami stared.

"How long were you awake?" Zoro's eyes opened and he considered them before he sighed, closing his eyes again.

"Long enough to hear Shanks' apology. Not sure why he's apologizing; I never was one to hold a grudge. And it was my own choice, anyway..." He muttered, drifting back to sleep as Usopp and Nami exchanged a glance.

Zoro only dreamed of when he made his fateful wish.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

_Shanks quickly waved his hands in the universal sign of 'cease and desist,' hoping to talk some sense into the green-haired man in front of him._

"_Trust me kid! It's not worth it! A lot don't even __**live**__ through that wish!" Zoro glared at the hovering genie in front of him._

"_I don't have a choice! I'll never keep my promise with the way I'm going, and I'm running out of time! Just do it!" Shanks hastily grasped at his words, trying to stall him._

"_What do you mean you're running out of time? You're still only what, twenty?"_

"_Nineteen."_

"_There you go! Your lifespan is only a fifth of the way through! Some people even live a lot longer! Don't go out the easy way! You have plenty of time!" Zoro snarled at him, the action inducing a coughing fit. He doubled over and groaned, Shanks pulling back in alarm. Zoro glared up at him, chest heaving._

"_I... don't have... much time!" He repeated in between gasps. "I don't know what that bastard did to me, but I won't live through the year like this; and you said it yourself! You can't undo a curse! You have to do it __**now**__!" Zoro slowly straightened up and stared the genie in the eye, showing him his resolve._

"_I wish I had the ultimate power!" Shanks looked down in dismay as his hand moved up and pointed at Zoro unwillingly, much to his horror._

"_Kid, don't!"_

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zoro's eyes snapped open, jerking forward from his memories. The two above him gave him a worried glance, but he simply rolled over and returned back to sleep, scowling.

It was, no matter the consequences he still payed a thousand years later, still his own choice.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

… Oo;; Please don't kill me.

And no, I'm not continuing that flashback for a while. Next chapter is the end of the Buggy arc (finally!)

… Yes, you're just going to have to get over that last flashback. I mean it! It's not coming back for a while! But there _is_, after all, a specific reason I left out some parts from the original East Blue saga. You just get to sit there and wonder what the hell I did to Zoro.

… Or you may figure it out. Dammit, I gave too much away! DDDx *skips away before readers begin throwing stones*

Much thanks to Mayo2198, NinjaFoodLover, Jasmin, bookishangel, eternitybeckons, cb, Tamari, and Neko11 for your amazing reviews!

**Next time on Arabian Nights: Final clash in Orange Town! Buggy versus Luffy; Luffy's resolve!**

Please review, despite me doing so many horrible things in this chapter.


	8. Great Encounters

You guys give me the greatest reviews~! My response to them all:

Shut up bastards. You can't make me happy. ***wiggle***

But a lot of you started making guesses about Zoro's background and such. Unfortunately (for you anyway), none of you guessed correctly. But you guys did get one thing right: Freeing a genie is NOT as simple as saying "I wish the genie was free." Why would I change that? One, for the theory of genies I've adopted and modified specifically for this fic. Two, you'll actually find that a lot of the changes I make to Aladdin and One Piece canon in this story are related to what I personally believe the characters would never do unless under certain circumstances. For example:

Shanks WOULD NEVER allow someone to wish themselves into an eternity of servitude without him frantically telling them exactly what they were getting themselves into. With that in mind,

Zoro WOULD NEVER knowingly wish himself into an eternity of servitude UNLESS the circumstances were completely desperate. If you can't cure a curse that would kill you before you keep a childhood promise, you just make it go away by turning yourself into a genie. Patented Marimo Logic. And if the genie wishing was so simple, then even Luffy would figure it out. Thus bringing us to the fact that

Luffy WOULD NEVER let the knowledge of how to free a genie go unused. If he figured it out, he would do it immediately without question to getting his last wish; unlike A CERTAIN PERSON who procrastinated on his promise throughout the ENTIRE FREAKING MOVIE. ***fumes*** And then this whole fic would be rather boring, as one of the main characters would be gone.

Zoro doesn't exactly like Luffy, has no commitment to him besides the whole genie thing, and _would_ leave at the first chance he got. If that last tie was taken away NOW, while he has no reason to stay with Luffy and co., he would blink for a minute at his freedom then be on his merry way. Except he'd be immortal and uncommitted to any crew with his ways of wandering the world and slaughtering all in his path, and God forbid I unleash that kind of Zoro on any world, fictional or not. He'd be a complete Mihawk in no time, but with a lot less self-control and the tendency to find a lot more to be angry at. DDD8

Nightmare I tell you. ***shudders*** There are a lot more WOULD NEVERs in this fic, but I'll put them in as I go along. :D

I do not own One Piece or Aladdin. Why am I even doing that for Aladdin anymore? Meh.

Poo, what a short chapter. D:

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Buggy slowly emerged from the rubble of the fallen building, dropping the bandits he had been using as a shield. He dusted off his coat and glared at Luffy, who hadn't seemed surprised that he had survived.

"You don't know what you're dealing with, brat." Buggy spat at Luffy. "You've been raised in a palace all your life! You don't know what kind of world it is out there!" Luffy held up his fists with a smirk.

"That's why I'm going to go see it for myself! I'll never accomplish anything unless I can see the entire world!" Buggy twitched.

"Don't take the world so lightly! There are still places that no one has ever discovered!"

"Then we'll just have to find them for ourselves, won't we?" Buggy threw up his arms in disbelief.

"I'm even _warning_ you as someone who's been through it all! You may have discovered that the myth of a genie is true, but there are more devils and magics in the world than you can ever imagine! Every country comes with a new legend! Every legend comes with a new danger! You probably won't even survive through your own country's _genie_ legends!" Luffy glared at him.

"That's right! You still didn't tell me how to free a genie! I need to kick your ass until you tell me!" Buggy laughed.

"If you can do that, I'll tell you everything Shanks told me about it! But then again..." Buggy then whipped out his knives and charged forward. "I NEVER WAS THE SQUEALING TYPE!" At this, Buggy threw the daggers in his hand straight at Luffy. Luffy yelped and ducked under the fan of knives before jumping forward himself. He pulled back his fist a few feet.

"Gomu gomu no..." Buggy only leered at him as he stepped to the side, Luffy's arm going past and beyond him.

"You're quite new with that fruit, aren't you boy? An arm stretched out is completely vulnerable!" Buggy brought up his arm with another dagger in it and was about to take a swipe at the outstretched arm, not noticing that Luffy's hand had instead latched onto the window of a nearby house and Luffy himself was now flying with his other arm out.

"SCYTHE!" Buggy's head turned at the yell and his head reflexively flew off his neck.

"Bara bara escape!" Luffy's arm went right through the space Buggy's neck had been and he crashed into the rubble of the house Buggy had knocked down earlier.

Nami's eyes popped out of her head as she watched the fight, Zoro bandaged to the best of her abilities and snoring behind her. Usopp also watched with wide eyes, getting his first glimpse of just how proficient a fighter Luffy really was. Usopp shook his head as Luffy jumped back from the rubble.

"Never would have guessed how he fought just by looking at him..." Usopp leaned back as Nami seemed to zero in on the rubble of the building. "When I first met him he was running from a bunch of guards. He'd been stealing some meat. Later he told me he thought it was free." Usopp chuckled to himself. No one was really paying attention to him, but he continued nonetheless. "When he ran right into me, the guards recognized me and came to the conclusion that Luffy was a Vegetable Bandit. I took him to our hideout after we escaped later; he never did tell me he was a prince, even after he would bring us good food every day..."

"I can see my treasure!" Nami suddenly squealed, snapping Usopp out of his memories. She jumped up and looked at the two sternly. "I'm going to go and grab my treasures. You two are going to _stay put _and when I come back, and then carry the treasure; besides the injured one, of course." Nami waved a finger at Usopp's protests. "And you are _not_ going to get in my way! And you don't get a single coin from the pile either! It's all mine!" Usopp stared after her before huffing.

"She's almost as weird as Luffy."

"Tch. Greedy money-grubber's more like it." Usopp jumped and turned to see that Zoro had woken up again. He blinked lazily. "What?"

"... Should you even be _alive_, let alone _awake_?"

"No." Usopp coughed.

"... Don't you find something wrong with that?"

"Why? I'm alive, aren't I? You got a problem with that?" Zoro seemed genuinely confused at Usopp's point of view despite his menacing glare, and Usopp trembled before squeaking out

"I _mean_, how the hell did you live for so long without help?" Zoro snorted, leaning his head back.

"I almost didn't, if that's what you mean. After living through that, everything else was a piece of cake. Till you idiots showed up; I have half a mind to beat you all into a coma for the grief you've put me through." Usopp gave him a blank stare, the horror of his words not quite sinking in.

"... You mean Luffy, right?"

"Keep telling yourself that."

"MY HAT!" Both Usopp and Zoro froze as Luffy's voice echoed over to them, sounding more angry than either had ever heard. It was a very scary sound, despite everything they knew about him, and even Zoro seemed bewildered as Usopp's knees trembled.

"L-Luffy?" Usopp peeked out of the alley to see Luffy standing in the midst of some rubble from another destroyed building, holding up his hat with a look on his face Usopp never thought could exist on him.

Usopp could just make out the small tear on the brim of Shanks' hat. He scurried back in the alley as Luffy began shouting at Buggy.

"How dare you mess up this hat! You know what it means to me!" They could hear Buggy's laugh.

"And that's why I'm going to destroy it, piece by piece! Then when I'm finished with you, I'll finish off your little bandit friend, and destroy that genie once and for all! Then Nami will have no protection, and the treasure will all be mine!" Zoro growled, attempting to sit up with his hands on his katana.

"Destroy me, eh? I'd like to see the damned freak try!" Usopp merely trembled as Luffy charged forward, arm held out again; his hat was firmly shoved back on his head.

"**DON'T YOU DARE LAY A HAND ON MY NAKAMA!**" Luffy yelled. Buggy only smirked and repeated his earlier maneuver of making his head fly off, only for Luffy to instead slam right into Buggy's midsection. Buggy's floating head made odd nosies of discomfort as his body slammed into the ground, a very pissed Luffy hovering over him. "Don't even _think_ about touching them! I'll kick your ass to the ends of the world if you _ever_ threaten them again! Now you _will_ tell me!" Luffy grabbed Buggy's head from midair and stomped on his chest. "How do you free a genie?" Usopp turned to see Zoro's reaction at his words, only to see the genie staring at the wall with the blankest scowl Usopp had ever seen. Then the scowl grew deeper and Zoro muttered under his breath

"Bet he doesn't even know what 'nakama' means." Usopp turned his attention away from the fight, not noticing that Buggy never actually replied to Luffy's demands other than splitting in two and rise above Luffy menacingly.

"Well, doesn't it mean close friend or companion? Like family?" Usopp asked. Zoro growled.

"It means more than that. It's more than friends, more than family... it's the closest non-romantic bond anyone can hope to achieve. It's _nakama_." Zoro emphasized as Buggy's upper half then lunged towards Nami, who was attempting to sneak away with the last recovered sack of treasure. The two turned their attention back to the fight as Luffy became angry again, deciding to take out his revenge on the half in front of him.

"I told you..." Buggy stopped midflight with the queerest expression of pain on his face. Behind him his bottom half dropped to the floor, leaving Luffy to stand there with a smirk. "Not to touch my nakama!" Nami didn't know exactly what he meant by 'nakama,' but she _was_ trying to get on the prince's good side and all. So she decided to help out by swinging the heavy treasure bag right at the seemingly frozen head of Buggy.

She then pulled back in satisfaction, only to start in horror as the floating hands got a tight grip on the bag.

"Thank you for your services, Nami..." Buggy's head leered over the top of the bag. "But I'm afraid that I no longer have any use for you. Arlong will just have to get over it."

"Don't you dare!" Buggy looked back to see Luffy winding up for what would be a very, very unhealthy and devastating attack at his lower half, and he quickly cried out.

"Bara bara festival!" Just as Luffy was about to kick forward, Buggy's entire body became a myriad of pieces, with his arms still hugging the bag and his hands stabbing at Nami with the daggers. Nami shrieked and ran off, Buggy chasing her with a maniacal laugh. Luffy swore under his breath.

"Dammit! I don't know anything about devil fruits! What do I do now?" Usopp watched as the flying Buggy parts seemed to swarm around Nami, but something also caught his eye...

"Luffy!" Luffy blinked and looked over to Usopp. "His feet! Look at his feet!" Luffy complied and grinned.

"The feet can't fly at all! Shishishi..." Luffy chuckled and pounced on one of the feet, taking off the boot and tickling the bare foot. "Gotcha!"

Nami was so busy running for her life that she didn't notice that Buggy's head was beginning to laugh, and that he was slowing down considerably. She did, however, notice when he yelped in pain and his body jolted as though he had run into something. When he yelled out again Nami simply could not take it anymore.

"You need to just go away!" She yelled, pulling out her staff and then swinging it across Buggy's head. Nami smirked at her triumph, then stiffened as Buggy tsked at her.

"You really are a slow learner, aren't you girl?" Buggy's hand grabbed the staff away while the other made to stab her. "Now just die already!"

"Oh no you don't!" Usopp may have been a coward for the whole of his life (not that it wasn't developed from a completely sane reason) but he knew better than to simply stand by while someone was getting hurt. Luffy might have been close by, but the arms carrying the treasure decided to intervene and make him unable to save Nami. So Usopp picked up the nearest rock and threw it as hard as he could.

He might have been surprised to see that it struck Buggy in the middle of his forehead if he wasn't so terrified. The rock, being about a size larger than Buggy's nose, effectively drove away the deranged clown and made him fall on the ground and seemingly black out.

"Ooofff..." Now that the arms were no longer stopping him, Luffy grinned and gave Usopp a thumbs up, the latter shakily doing the same in reply. Usopp dragged out Zoro from the alley as the group huddled around the last bag of treasure, the clown arms slack around it. Nami smiled at them.

"Thanks for saving me. I thought I was done for that time!" Luffy laughed.

"Thank Usopp too! Where'd you learn to throw like that; that was amazing!" Usopp dropped Zoro's limp arm and puffed out his chest in pride.

"Why, I was always training and waiting for the day I could go and have my own adventures you know! Fighting off jaguars and horrible demons from the underworld..."

"Probably scared off by your lying skills." Luffy laughed as Usopp pouted.

"Zoro! You're awake! Can you move yet?" Zoro seemed to turn almost blue when he twitched.

"I think I lost too much blood..." Nami sighed.

"It's even a miracle that you're still alive! How the hell did all of you weirdos survive the desert so far?" Usopp and Luffy pouted.

"How am _I_ the weirdo?" They chorused. Nami slapped her forehead.

"Mostly Luffy. Usopp seems to have _some_ level of sanity. It was all dashed away when he joined you though."

"Oi!" Luffy laughed at the indignant look on Usopp's face before another voice joined in.

"You meddling kids..." Buggy's head and hands then began to float above the four very eerily. "You think you can just leave without serious consequences? I'm not done fighting yet! Bara bara parts, reassemble!" Buggy's head and hands then slowly sank to the ground...

… and formed into a small body with no limbs. Even Usopp was compelled to burst into laughter at the sight of the clown bandit waving his hands up and down in confusion as he stamped his feet.

"What the hell?"

"Looking for these?" They whirled to see Nami sitting quite comfortably on a stack of tied up arms and legs. She winked at Luffy. "Just thought I'd contribute something, _sire_." Luffy seemed confused at the last word, but simply shrugged and grinned.

"That's an amazing skill! As for you..." Luffy turned and growled at the chibi Buggy, who only meeped in reply. "You have exactly ten seconds to tell me what I need to know. Ten..." Luffy's arms then began to go back. Buggy waved his hands frantically.

"I-I-"

"Nine..."

"But he wouldn't say-"

"Eight..." Now Usopp and Zoro were joining in on the fun, giving similar sadistic glares (although Zoro's made Usopp's seem like an innocent smile.)

"I think I remember! He said that-"

"Seven..."

"HOLD ON YOU FLASHY BASTARD I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER!"

"Six..." Luffy's arms now reached all the way back to the building behind him, and he held it there with a stern look on his face.

"REALLY! SHANKS SAID ONCE THAT-"

"Five..."

"IF YOU SAY THAT YOU-"

"Four..."

"SIMPLY WISH FOR THE GENIE TO BE FREE-"

"Three!"

"THEN THE GENIE-"

"Two!"

"I'M SAYING IT! THEN THE GENIE-"

"ONE! GOMU GOMU NO..."

"**WILL DIE!**"

"BAZOOKA!" Luffy's hands then shot forward and pelted Buggy's tiny form, shooting him off into the desert. There was a silence as Buggy's last words played over in their minds. Usopp shuddered.

"Die? From granting their own freedom?" Luffy stared ahead with a blank expression, mirrored by Zoro as they both looked where Buggy had flown. Nami sensed the mood and attempted to cheer them up.

"Maybe he was lying?"

"No. He was telling the truth." They all turned to Zoro who rubbed his stab wound irritably. "He wouldn't have any reason to lie about it; you can't rub more than one genie lamp in a lifetime. He wouldn't get anything out of me being stuck like this." There was another silence before Luffy simply grinned back at them.

"Well, there's always a way, right? Shanks did it, and so can we! You don't like being a genie, so we'll fix it! We're all nakama, ne?" Zoro simply looked away from Luffy's grin with a scowl.

"Whatever. Damned kid..."

"Oi kids!" They all blinked and turned to see the mayor running up to them, an entire group of townspeople at his heels. Nami stared.

"When did he even leave?" The mayor ran forward, huffing.

"What happened to the clown, sire? Did he leave?" Luffy turned and blinked.

"Sire? Oh, no, that's my grandpa! My name's Luffy, nice to meet you all! And Buggy just left!" Luffy grinned at the disoriented villagers, but some couldn't help but smile back. Boodle kneeled in front of Luffy.

"Very well... Luffy. I must thank you for ridding this village of those bandits. If there is any way we can repay you..." Luffy waved a hand.

"That's okay! I'm sorry about your village... I know! Nami!" Luffy turned to Nami. "Give them some of your treasure, and then they can fix it up!" Nami's eyes crossed in a complete look of horror.

"'Give?' 'Treasure?' **Never**!" She spat out; but then one of the villagers stepped forward.

"Hey, I remember you! You were with that clown! Si- er, Luffy! She's a bandit that's trying to kidnap you, or worse!" Nami went pale as a ghost at the accusation, but Luffy only waved a hand.

"No, she's my friend! She's a really nice person too, aren't you Nami?" Nami was suddenly torn. On the one hand, she could discredit Luffy's claim and not give up the treasure to the villagers. On the other hand, it was Luffy and Luffy alone that was letting her walk away without serious consequences. She did have two other bags...

"Oh! Fine! Here!" Nami shoved the bag in her arms to Boodle, who's jaw dropped when he saw the gleaming gold inside. "Fix your town then!" Nami stormed away, muttering dark things under her breath. Usopp was careful to give her a wide perimeter. Luffy waved to the villagers.

"Anyway, thanks! But we better get going!"

"Wait." Boodle waved a hand and a man came forward, dragging along the two horses and a camel. Boodle nodded at the man, who stepped forward.

"We found these beasts on the edge of town, where they were being raided by a small group of straggler clown bandits. We assumed that they were yours, and we took the liberty of replenishing your food and water stock, along with a few tents. You seem to have lost your own..." The man bowed, and Luffy grinned.

"Hey, thanks! That was real nice of you guys! But I don't know the camel..." Nami ran forward and threw her arms around the camel.

"Eyelashes~! I've missed you boy!" The crowd sweat dropped as the camel seemed to melt under her touch, eyes alight in joy. Nami patted the camel and grabbed her bags, nodding to the other boys. "We need to go before it gets dark; the desert is dangerous at night." Luffy grinned.

"So you _are_ coming with us! I knew it! Come on, Usopp!" Luffy went over and slung the pale Zoro over his shoulder, then heaved him onto one of the horses. "Don't fall off Zoro!" The crowd was alarmed to hear the supposed corpse give a muttered "Hn." in reply. Luffy and Usopp then jumped onto the last horse; Luffy had ridden horses around the palace before, and held the reigns with practiced ease. Nami attached the last two bags to Eyelashes' saddle along with the food given, then led the way out of the town.

They trotted to the desert in the horizon, waving back as the villagers shouted their thanks all over again. Luffy grinned and called back.

"Don't worry about it! Just live good lives!" As they faded into the distance a man turned to Boodle in bewilderment.

"Is he really the prince of East Blue? He's so..." Boodle smiled slightly.

"If you saw the things that he was capable of, of the strength and moral he displays, you'd be dancing like a charmed snake for this country's future."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"Naaamiiiiii... Are we there nooooow?" A vein in Nami's head throbbed. She was still in a dark mood after losing part of her treasure, and Luffy's whining made her all the more temperamental.

"No, Luffy, we are _not_ there yet. We are exactly forty-five seconds closer than when you last asked!" Luffy sighed in relief.

"Then we're almost there? That's good. Cuz I think Usopp ate all of the food." Usopp looked up from where he was raiding Nami's saddle bags as Nami whirled in her saddle to stare at him incredulously. Just then she noticed the fact that Luffy was suddenly riding alone.

"YOU ATE ALL OF OUR FOOD?" While Nami was shouting at Usopp Zoro silently reached over and grabbed what was left in the bags, stuffing his face as Usopp shrank back.

"... Luffy ate some too." Luffy whirled and pointed at Usopp accusingly.

"Traitor!" He was cut off by a blow to his head that sent him flying off the horse. The horse, effectively spooked, then proceeded to trample the prince underneath its hooves and trot ahead to catch up with the others. Luffy twitched as the group laughed at him. Then Nami and Usopp turned to stare in disbelief at Zoro, who had the remains of a laugh on his face. He then scowled at them, making any remaining humor fly away.

"... What?"

"..." Zoro rolled his eyes and moved on. Nami and Usopp stuttered and then shook their heads.

"He has a sense of humor." Nami stated in awe. Usopp nodded sagely, walking alongside Eyelashes.

"Even if it does come from cruel things. He needs to be careful with that scowl of his; I heard if you make an unhappy face every day, you'll be stuck like that for forever. I believe it is too late though..."

"I heard that!" Nami giggled as Usopp yelped and tried to cling onto her camel. The camel turned and bit his rump with a huff, making Usopp retreat.

"Eyelashes doesn't like men." Usopp rubbed his sore bottom.

"Nice to know." After such incidents he soon grew tired of walking and jumped back on the horse that had trampled Luffy. Soon Luffy came up, wide eyed.

"Namiiiiii!" Nami twitched.

"What is it now?" Luffy held up his hat with the most pathetic look on his face.

"My hat got hurt in the fight... and the horse made it worse! Stupid horse!" Luffy then slapped the horse, making him jump and run off into the distance, taking Usopp along with him.

"**AAAAIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**" No one seemed to really notice (Usopp had been screaming of various monsters for quite some time now), except for Zoro who watched the horse disappear over the dunes with an amused glint in his eye. Nami eyed the hat.

"And just what do you want me to do about that?" Luffy held up the hat to Nami.

"You fixed Zoro, right? You can fix my hat too! Please?" Nami was about to explain (in a very violent way) that fixing masochistic genies and fixing hats made from hard to obtain materials were completely different things. But when Luffy gave another pout she sighed, reaching into her bag and snatching away the hat at the same time.

"Oh all right. I'll get that for you."

"Yay! Nami's gonna fix my hat~! Isn't that great Usopp?" Silence. "... Usopp?" Zoro yawned.

"The horse ran off with him."

"EH?" Nami whirled on Zoro, fist raised threateningly. "Why didn't you tell us? Which way did he go?" Zoro pointed.

"That way." Suddenly Zoro seemed very, very confused. "Or was it that way...?" He pointed in the opposite direction. "Maybe he went some other way..."

"YOU IDIOT!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Luffy moaned as he walked along behind Nami and Zoro, who had realized (five minutes after the initial freak out) that they could simply follow the horse's tracks. He had been sharing the horse with Usopp, as Eyelashes was prone to biting anyone else who came near and Zoro refused to share his own horse. The sun was just setting. Zoro shrugged when Luffy asked for the horse again.

"You wouldn't carry the lamp. Now you're just going to have to walk."

"I don't waaaant tooooo..." Nami sighed.

"Shut up Luffy. At the next town we'll buy you some meat if you keep quiet." Luffy's response was absolute silence. Zoro nodded in satisfaction.

"I need to remember that one." Nami blinked.

"Why? I though you were only sticking around until he made his last wishes." Nami asked, turning to Zoro. Zoro glowered at Luffy, who only grinned in return despite his tongue hanging out.

"He doesn't _want_ his wishes."

"... EH?" Something like this was completely unheard of for Nami, and she stared at Luffy incredulously. "How can you not want three wishes?" Luffy simply picked his nose.

"I actually only have two."

"So you _do_ use wishes! What was the first one?"

"To save Usopp from being killed." Luffy replied. When Nami turned to Zoro for confirmation she got a gruff nod. She slapped her forehead.

"Even if you _are_ a prince, how can you not want more? Everyone wants more! You could even wish for you to already be at the seas!" Luffy shrugged.

"That would be too easy. And stupid. I'm getting there anyway, right? Might as well have fun doing it."

"Searching for your lost bandit friend is _not_ fun! We'll need to stop and camp soon, too. We can't go searching for him in the dark!" Luffy was silent as Nami continued. "Usopp will have to be on his own for now; we'll look for him in the morning. It's getting colder already! How can you stand to be in that vest only?" Luffy stared at Nami as though she was speaking another language. Then he looked down at his attire thoughtfully.

… Luffy suddenly wrapped his arms around himself.

"COLD!"

"YOU JUST NOTICED?"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

By the time the horse had calmed itself to a slow walk, the sun had set over the desert. Usopp shivered in his clothing, wishing yet again that he was back with Luffy. Even Nami or Zoro would have been fine with him, as long as he wasn't too alone.

Now he only had the horse.

"I-It's c-cold..." Usopp chattered. Up ahead then, he could just see a faint glow. "Hey! It's a fire! Is it Luffy?" Usopp nudged his horse into a brisk trot and carried forward. By the time he was near he could make out three figures, two men and one woman. Usopp breathed a sigh of relief as he jumped off the horse, walking up to the fire.

"Hey guys! I'm alright! Glad you got a fire going, because I-" Suddenly the two men whirled and pressed their swords against Usopp's throat.

And it occurred to Usopp that these were not, in fact, Luffy and Zoro. The men were bundled in darkly colored tunics, one green and one blue, and were both wearing face masks, much to Usopp's horror. Their eyes narrowed as they pressed Usopp to the ground and held their swords over his neck in an 'X' shape.

"S-Stop!" The other member of the group then stood. She was a little shorter than Usopp, and was wearing a large tunic with a hood that concealed her features. When she stood, she seemed to have a coughing fit that made the two men forget all about Usopp.

"Miss!" The woman waved an arm.

"I... I'm fine." She gasped out. She walked over to Usopp and offered her hand to him, ignoring the men's protests. "I apologize for Johnny and Yosaku's behavior. They're simply overprotective." Usopp stared at the offered hand, unsure if he took it the fragile girl would fall apart. The men shared his thoughts and instead grabbed Usopp and yanked him to his feet. The one in the dark green tunic spoke first, holding up his sword again.

"Who are you?" Usopp trembled.

"I-I am the g-great Usopp... d-don't hurt me!" The two men exchanged a glance. They slowly put their swords away as the woman stepped forward.

"Hello Usopp. My name is-" The one in the blue tunic then cut her off.

"Miss! You're keeping your identity a secret!" She waved him off.

"Now then, this young man is obviously in need of a fire for the night. Were you separated from your comrades?" Usopp nodded. Kaya turned to the men with a resolved nod. "Then it is only fair that we should play host to him. And a good host does not hide her face." With that she pulled down her hood to reveal a pale young woman a little younger than Usopp, with blonde hair and wide, kind eyes. She smiled gently at Usopp.

"My name is Kaya, princess of Syrup Kingdom. These are my guards Johnny and Yosaku. I welcome you to our fire."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Kuro scowled as the night winds blew away the tracks in the desert sand. He'd been following that girl for the entire afternoon, ever since he had ordered to invade the Syrup palace. He'd made short work of the guards, but not short enough apparently.

Because the princess had escaped, or so said the sultan with his dying breath. Kuro could only follow the direction he had been going in the whole time and hope he'd find them eventually.

Kuro didn't know what Arlong wanted with the princess of Syrup, or why she'd fled into the neighboring kingdom of East Blue, but he was a man very keen on living. Besides, there were very few places a girl could go unseen, Kuro reminded himself. He was also traveling alone on horse while the girl had two escorts (if the footprints were anything to go by) and a camel.

And tomorrow night, the full moon would rise.

The very thought made Kuro's eyes glint dangerously behind his glasses and then trot a little faster into the night, seemingly unaffected by the cold desert air.

"Yes... just one more night... princess."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Ohhh, spooky~!

Here's another WOULD NEVER:

Nami WOULD NEVER give away treasure unless she found a better investment. Like staying on the good side of a certain prince. ;D

Did you know that genies (originally djinns) are actually spirits of smokeless fire? This made me quite happy when I realized that, as I do love showing these genies breathing fire and using flames in general. :D Now I have a good excuse for so much FIRE. 8333

Another note: While the setting of Aladdin was (at least in the book) somewhere around medieval times, most of Luffy's attacks are named after firearms that weren't invented until hundreds of years later. This is quite problematic. Please just go along with the complete technology screw up. Besides, Oda-sensei has his own technology warps, so JUST LIVE WITH THEM. Please? :D

A great big thanks to kouriel, bookishangel, eternitybeckons, NinjaFoodLover, animeXIII, cb, Tamari, and You Me Her for your amazing reviews! I LOVE THEM ALL AND YOU MAKE ME SO HAPPY. 8DDDDD And btw, I did read Slightly Damned and I absolutely loved it! Thank you NinjaFoodLover! :DDD And I know what you mean about fangirls... TT

**Next time on Arabian Nights: Tales from Syrup Kingdom: the bandit, the princess, and the ragtag fighting duo. And the creature that hunted in the night.**

***Fwooshes away before readers come to senses*** Please review~ :D


	9. Street Rat

Wow! Crazy story behind this chapter, I tell you!

See, I was pulling an all-nighter on coffee POWER, and I finished a little early. By early I mean two in the morning, with at least another hour of coffee POWER in my system. So I figured I'd work on this chapter a little, then go to bed.

… The flash drive with the half-completed chapter wasn't registering in the system. I was really, really upset and did what any sane person would do.

I turned on and off the computer, trying to get the flash drive to work for the next hour. Eventually the coffee POWER wore off, and I went to bed. I woke up the next morning and tried it again. And again. And again.

By now you should realize that I get very OCD when it comes to the computer not working properly.

So I was so upset, I went and turned on my other computer (the flash drive worked for that one, oddly enough), burned the entire flash drive to a CD, and brought the CD to this computer! I then typed up this chapter as my way of saying "TAKE _THAT_ COMPUTER."

I was quite pleased with myself. :D

But thank you all for the lovely reviews! I swear I was blushing. x3 And guess what? One of the reviewers guessed correctly about Kuro! Congratz to bookishangel; you may not be surprised later, but I'm glad that I'm not too vague in my hinting! 8DDD

This is a somewhat short chapter, but I really need to work on my schoolwork right now. And it's a good place to end this, I think... But other than that I'm not sure when I can update again. Schoolwork's been hell lately.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Aladdin. Why must I continuously remind you? Stupid priorities... TT

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**" You are a worthless street rat! You were _born_ a street rat, and you'll _die_ a street rat! And only your fleas will mourn you!"**

**~Prince Achmed**

Usopp didn't get much sleep last night.

Maybe it was from worry, maybe it was from the fact that he was traveling with royalty. It really hadn't bothered him with Luffy; but it could be that he was traveling with someone that actually _acted_ like royalty.

It could also be the two guards that were traveling with her.

They had refused to sleep (although Usopp woke up early and found them snoring against each other) and didn't trust Usopp one bit. When he tied his horse alongside the camel they eyed him as though he were about to draw a weapon from the bag. When they gave him some food they watched him chew as though he were about to spit on Kaya, who was more than kind to the boy.

Now, as he helped them take down their tents (under Yosaku's watchful eye) he carefully strapped them to the camel and said thank you, but he'd better find his friends now. Kaya seemed surprised at this.

"Do you know where they are?" Usopp paused thoughtfully.

"... No. But I really don't want to intrude on you guys; you seem to be heading somewhere important." Kaya waved a hand.

"You can simply travel with us. We can see if we find your friends along the way; and if we get to a stop along where we're going, then we can leave you there instead. I couldn't possibly abandon you out here in the desert, where you might not find them at all!" Usopp warily watched Johnny and Yosaku's reaction to this, but they only watched him with narrowed eyes. He couldn't really tell with the masks how they felt about her offer. When Kaya followed his gaze she simply said

"We'd _all_ be delighted to have you along. Isn't that right?"

They reluctantly nodded. So now they walked alongside Kaya's camel, with Usopp behind them on his horse. There was a long, awkward silence.

Not like Usopp could really stand the silence.

"So... where are you guys going, anyway?" Kaya turned and answered, much to the disapproval of the two guards.

"We're seeking refuge with the East Blue sultan. My father was..." Kaya trailed off with a sad look, making her seem a little more fragile than usual. Usopp decided to change the subject.

"You know, I once went to the East Blue palace. It's a beautiful place!" Kaya seemed unaffected, so he continued on. "I was there as a secret agent of the prince, Luffy D. Monkey! He and his brother had called me in to help rid the palace of an viking that had snuck into the grounds..." Kaya turned and stared at him incredulously.

"Vikings haven't been around for a few hundred years, Usopp." Usopp grinned.

"Which is why I was a _secret_ agent! The whole thing was kept under tight wraps you know! The viking called himself 'Squishy the Terrible'!" Kaya's lips twitched in a small smile.

"Why would he call himself such a thing?"

"Because he would squish his victims to death with his fearsome weight! All of his victims were found with the same face; it was his calling card." With this Usopp puffed out his cheeks and pressed his forehead down to his eyes.

Kaya laughed out loud at the expression, much to the surprise of Johnny and Yosaku. They had been watching Usopp as well, and Usopp thought he saw a hint of a smile in their eyes. Usopp grinned at them.

"I bet you couldn't guess how I defeated him!" When they shook their heads, he held up an imaginary sword. "I simply poked his nose with the tip of a sword! It was a swollen thing, you see, and it caught my eye immediately! When I made a small cut on it, all of the air came rushing out of him in a great 'WHOOSH!'" Usopp flung his arms back. "His secret was only that he kept his mouth hanging open for fifteen years, and when he had trapped all the air in his body he stopped up the passageway with his nose! After I was done with him he was no more than 'Skinny the Coward', and he fled right back to his time a thousand years ago!" Usopp bowed as Kaya eventually recovered from her laughing, and Usopp thought he could see Johnny's shoulders shaking suspiciously. Kaya turned to Johnny worriedly.

"Johnny? Are you alright?" Johnny shook himself, but turned away.

"S-Sorry Miss Kaya... but..." A snort escaped him. "'Whoosh'!" Johnny turned back and mimicked Usopp's movements with the word. He burst into laughter along with Yosaku, who nearly fell to the ground.

"A-And that name! Squishy! HA!" Yosaku gasped out as the two collapsed on each other in their mirth. Kaya and Usopp soon laughed along with them, Usopp inwardly congratulating himself. Yosaku grinned back at Usopp.

"That's an amazing story! Where'd you hear that?" Usopp seemed almost offended.

"Why, I made that up myself! I'm an amazing storyteller, you see, and Luffy and the boys always love my stories!" There was a silence as they processed what Usopp had said. Johnny snorted.

"Luffy? As in the prince?" Usopp suddenly realized that if they had heard of Usopp the Vegetable Bandit, who had supposedly killed the prince, then they would immediately think him a criminal. Usopp waved his arms nervously.

"D-Did I say Luffy? I meant... Rufi! Yeah, Rufi! My... horse?" Usopp could have sworn the horse gave a incredulous snort at this. Kaya only smiled.

"Well, that's a nice name for a horse. My camel's name is Merri; he's been with my family since he was a calf." Usopp nodded, sighing inwardly in relief.

"That's a nice name for a camel. It reminds me of another story... If you want to hear it?" Johnny and Yosaku turned almost pleadingly to Kaya as she giggled.

"I'd love to." Usopp grinned as the two guards turned to Usopp enthusiastically.

"Well, it all started when I sailed the seas at five years old..."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zoro had decided to take some form of pity on the panting prince the next morning. That is, he tied Luffy's arm to the saddle and allowed him to be dragged behind. Despite ending up with a mouthful of sand if he accidentally flipped over, Luffy was pretty happy with this.

So happy, that he decided to _talk_.

"Thanks for fixing my hat Nami! You did a really good job too!" Nami turned and eyed Luffy, who was laying on his back with the aforementioned hat on his chest. She only shrugged.

"You two did save my life back there. I forgot to thank you for that." Luffy grinned.

"Well, that's what nakama are for, after all!" Nami looked at Luffy curiously.

"That's right. You never mentioned what 'nakama' meant. Is it your group name?" Zoro was silent, wanting to see how Luffy explained what nakama meant. Luffy turned on his side thoughtfully, holding his hat to his head as he spoke.

"Nakama... Ah, what did Shanks tell me? Nakama..." Luffy flipped back on his back, scratching his extended arm absentmindedly. "Nakama means... like more than friends. Like family, but..." Nami eyed him suspiciously as he shrugged to the best of his abilities. "I guess it's like a really, really close family. There's something more, but I forgot it. So we're all a family, right?" He looked up at Nami, who had gone silent at the word 'family'. She looked away.

"Sure... Luffy. Family." Despite Nami's reaction, Zoro was fairly impressed with Luffy's explanation. It left much unsaid, but... he turned in his saddle and glanced back at Luffy, who grinned at him. Zoro only grumbled and turned forward.

"Damned kid." Luffy laughed.

"Shishishi~! You remind me of my nii-san! He's always mad at me too!" Zoro rolled his eyes and sarcastically wondered why. "But he's still pretty cool. Usopp told me that when he was arrested, Nii-san went and told him that he believed Usopp!" Nami blinked; she hadn't taken up Usopp or Luffy's claim on Usopp being a bandit, but...

"What was Usopp arrested for?" Luffy made a face.

"Someone was being really stupid, and they thought that Usopp killed me. I was kidnapped by a mystery ossan, and I promised Shanks that I would have a great adventure before I went back. So me and Zoro saved Usopp instead! Right Zoro?"

"Hn."

"Wait, wait, wait." Nami held up her hands. "Why didn't Shanks just tell the kingdom that you had left? And why are you leaving anyway?" Luffy shuddered.

"They were gonna send me to the Amazon Lily princess when I turned eighteen. And Shanks didn't tell anyone because it's a secret." Nami had heard of the Amazon Lily princess, and could only stare at Luffy in disbelief. No wonder her first attempts at tricking him hadn't worked, if he was afraid of the fabled princess that was supposed to be the most beautiful in the world. Then the fact that it had been a secret came to Nami's mind and she slapped her forehead.

"But you've told _everyone _we met. How is that a secret?" Luffy stared at her incomprehensibly.

"... I don't get it." Nami felt as though she had to climb down and pummel him. Zoro saved his life (unknowingly, of course) by pointing ahead.

"Isn't that Usopp?" Luffy wriggled his arm free from the saddle and stood.

"Hey! That's Usopp!" Luffy cupped his hands around his mouth. "USOOOOOOOOPP! WE FOUUUUUUUND YOUUUUUUUUU~!"

Usopp and the three gave a start and looked back, where Luffy was running up to them. Usopp gave a grin.

"Luffy!" Kaya blinked rapidly.

"Luffy?" Luffy blinked.

"... You're that one person... Um..." Luffy tried very, very hard to remember, much to Usopp's amusement. Usopp jumped off the horse and hugged Luffy.

"I'm so glad you found me! This is... Hey, how do you know her?" Kaya waved at Luffy.

"The East Blue and Syrup kingdoms have an alliance with each other. I went with my father once to negotiate some things. I met Luffy and Ace then." Luffy slammed a fist into his palm.

"That's right! You're that girl that liked the flowers! Shishishi, Shanks even gave you some from another country!" Kaya smiled slightly.

"It's good to see you again... but how do you know Usopp?" Luffy patted Usopp on the back.

"Usopp's my best friend! We're going on an adventure with him and two others!" Johnny and Yosaku blinked.

"Why is the prince of the East Blue out of the palace? And without a guard?" Just as Johnny said this, Zoro's horse came up. The look on his face was more than enough to send Johnny and Yosaku in front of Kaya protectively, but then Zoro hopped off his horse and grabbed Luffy. Zoro shook Luffy as Eyelashes came up behind Zoro.

"Dammit Luffy! Don't run off like that! It hurts like hell!"

"Sorry Zoro..." Zoro only dropped Luffy with a scowl. Nami blinked at the girl.

"Usopp? Who's this?" Kaya slid off the camel and bowed.

"Hello. My name is Kaya, princess of Syrup kingdom. Usopp mistook our fire last night for your own, and he's been traveling with us until our next stop. Luffy," she turned to Luffy who dusted himself off. "There's been a terrible thing at Syrup palace. My father..." Kaya's eyes teared up and she choked back a sob. Yosaku stepped forward.

"The palace was attacked. A lone man came and blocked off all exits, then slaughtered everyone in his path. We were only able to escape with the princess, and the sultan gave his life when he attempted to stop him. We never saw him ourselves, but..." Yosaku trailed off and Johnny picked up.

"The servants outside the palace described him as a man with glowing eyes, red as blood. They said he had ten claws and moved with the speed and silence of a tiger. Yet he moved through the shadows like some sort of phantom." Kaya wiped her face and turned to Luffy, who was silent as he took in this information.

"Luffy, can your grandfather give us refuge? We don't know if the man will come after us again, and..." Luffy grinned.

"Of course Gramps will! You won't have to worry about the mystery man with him or Shanks; Gramps has a really, really hard punch! (Luffy unconsciously rubbed the top of his head as he said this, much to the horror of the group) And Shanks is just as good a fighter as him; even better! He taught me and Ace everything we know about fighting!" Kaya smiled at his enthusiasm.

"Thank you Luffy. But why are you outside of the palace? You're still only seventeen..."

"Oh! I'm running away!" Johnny and Yosaku sputtered at this.

"Running away?" Johnny demanded. "What kind of prince runs away the year before he becomes sultan?"

"One who doesn't want to get married." Zoro put in. Yosaku stared at Luffy.

"But you have the choice of any princess of the country! East Blue is practically the capital of the country; I bet you've been _begged_ to be married to princesses!" Luffy frowned.

"Yeah. But I don't like the ones that always ask. They're rude to other people, and they won't stop touching me!" Luffy shuddered, much to the disbelief of the group. Zoro shook his head sadly.

"Idiot." Johnny looked at Zoro oddly.

"So, who are you anyway? His guard?" Zoro scowled.

"No." Yosaku nodded solemnly.

"It's okay, brother. You can tell us. We're supposed to be secret guards of Miss Kaya, but we didn't hide it from you! Don't be ashamed to serve your country!"

"This isn't even my country!"

"Hey! That's taking the whole act a bit far..." Zoro slapped his forehead as Luffy laughed.

"No, Zoro's my friend! I found him in a mystery cave!" There was a bit of an awkward silence at this. Johnny coughed slightly.

"... Right. Why do you have three swords? Although they're really weird looking..." Zoro scowled.

"They're _katana_. I use all three." The two stared at him incredulously as Luffy nodded.

"Yeah! He's really good at it too! He cut up this one bandit into a bunch of little pieces! Course he put himself back together, but..." Luffy trailed off as Johnny and Yosaku regarded Zoro with an odd look in their eyes.

"Brother..." Yosaku started. Suddenly the two threw up their arms as their eyes widened.

"YOU'RE SO COOL!" The look on Zoro's face was akin to murderous rage as the two began an odd dance around him. They stopped and stared at him seriously in similar thinking poses, nodding to themselves.

"Such devotion!"

"And so stoic!"

"And such unique weapons!"

"And that hair!" A vein throbbed on Zoro's forehead as they continued with their comments. The rest of the group sweat dropped. Kaya giggled slightly.

"It seems as though they've found a new idol." Nami shook her head sadly.

"Only a man would consider that lunk for anything else. Remind you to tell you about the time he _stabbed_ himself to prove he could bleed." Kaya stared at Nami in shock and then looked at the barely visible bandage around Zoro's side.

"Then that wound..." Nami nodded.

"All self inflicted. And then he decided to bleed all over the place until he passed out from blood loss. Told us that he didn't know blood was so important to the human body." Zoro looked up from where he was considering mauling his two worshipers and shrugged.

"No one ever told me."

"That's because it's such a well known fact!"

"I obviously didn't know."

"And what does that say about you?" Zoro scowled, much to Nami's amusement. She exchanged a glance with Kaya and they both giggled slightly. Johnny and Yosaku regarded the two before sadly shaking their heads.

"Women."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Kuro stood on top of the dune with a thoughtful look on his face, eying the seven travelers below.

Well, this certainly was interesting.

Kuro wasn't sure what Nami was doing with them, but he knew it bespoke ill intents for the travelers. The girl was almost as clever and devious as himself, leaving behind her victims without a shred of mercy. But even with this knowledge, the look on Nami's face as she and his target laughed at the odd swordsman set off a few warnings in Kuro's mind, and he narrowed his eyes.

She almost looked... happy. Kuro shook off the notion almost as quickly as it had come. Nami was simply a good actor, and the past eight years of treachery weren't going to change for this one odd group.

Instead Kuro thought carefully about his plan. Obviously, he was counting on the three targets to be easy picking. He could easily walk up to them and not be identified, as they had escaped the palace before obtaining his identity. With Nami there though...

Well, she could be trusted not to speak, at the very least. The swordsman put a frown on Kuro's face though. The one with green hair looked powerful, to say the least. Kuro knew he could take on the two dancing around him with one hand behind his back, but should it come down to a fight between him and the katana wielder... It would be most troublesome. Then there was only one plan of action.

Kuro turned to the horse at his side, who was watching him warily through the odd red protectors over his eyes. The horse backed up a bit at the look in his master's eyes, bobbing the odd growth on his chin as Kuro calmly stepped forward.

"My apologies, Django..." Kuro held up a hand and claws sprouted from his fingertips to two feet in length, glinting off the odd red light shining from behind his spectacles as he slowly advanced on the terrified horse.

"But I never really did need a horse."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Nami laughed with Kaya as Johnny and Yosaku declared yet again how amazing Zoro was, much to Zoro's ire. Nami could practically see his temper shorten, and knew while that his genie status would prevent him from completely killing them, there were many options available to a magical being that were just short of death.

Zoro certainly was the kind of person for that thing.

Nami could only wonder what Luffy saw in him. It was obvious that Zoro hated Luffy with every fiber of his being, and were he not bound by the lamp he would leave him far, far behind. But Luffy always insisted that Zoro was a close friend; family, even. Usopp, despite his initial terror of the genie, also seemed to share the same opinion.

Nami had never been so confused by a single person. Luffy came off as a simple child, never really learning beyond his palace life. But his actions spoke of a wisdom beyond his years sometimes, despite the absolute simplicity of his logic.

Nami watched as Luffy laughed at the look on Zoro's face and slapped him on the back, making Zoro growl at him. Luffy only grinned in reply, and Nami thought she could almost see Zoro's face twitch in a return smile before he scowled again and scratched his bandages. Nami reminded herself to change them soon before she caught herself. Why would she care about this ragtag group? She was planning to betray them, and at the very least make much profit off of the prince himself. It almost made Nami sad to think about; he really didn't seem to enjoy being a prince, and Nami realized that perhaps having it all didn't really make one happy...

"Nami?" Kaya asked softly. Nami shook herself from her thoughts and met the princesses' eyes, still brimming with hidden sadness. No, being royalty didn't make things right at all. If anything they were just as much prisoners as herself and the genie. Nami schooled her features into a friendly smile.

"Yes?" Kaya seemed troubled, but let it go.

"I was wondering... why does Zoro seem so... angry?" Nami blinked.

"He's always angry. Pissed at Luffy for being stupid, pissed at the world for moving in circles, pissed at his lamp for..." Nami trailed off. She didn't really want to share Zoro's genie status for some reason. Kaya seemed confused at the unfinished sentence but shook her head.

"No, I mean... He seems so upset with... himself? With something about himself? I don't mean to pry, but he almost seems as though he's lost something dear to him. It seems to have something to do with the white... katana? That he carries." Nami blinked at the insight before watching Zoro carefully. Indeed, he seemed to unconsciously fondly the hilt of the white sheathed katana when a far off look occurred on his face. Nothing obvious, but he almost seemed... sick.

And then Luffy would say something and it would go away as quickly as it came. Nami wondered if Luffy did it on purpose, or if he just coincidently managed to distract the genie right as he seemed to become almost depressed. Nami shook her head.

"I don't know. I only met the group recently. But none of us know anything about Zoro at all. If Luffy does, he doesn't bring it up. We don't know where he came from, why he's here, or why he's always with Luffy. Usopp said that before Luffy rescued him, he had found Zoro somewhere." Kaya blinked.

"Usopp needed to be rescued? From what?" Nami decided not to answer, as Usopp was watching her with a panicked look in his eye. She turned away.

"I... I don't know." Kaya seemed to accept this.

"That's fine. I'm sorry I'm so invading..." Nami shrugged.

"It's okay. You have a right to be curious. We're the weirdest people you've probably ever met!" Nami winked as Kaya giggled.

"I'm sorry but... not quite so much as Shanks. Luffy is almost a complete copy of Akagami Shanks though, it's quite interesting. And that's his hat, isn't it?" Luffy perked up at the mention of Shanks and bounded over to her with a grin on his face.

"Yeah! This hat is my promise to him! I promised that I was going to have a great adventure before I went home, and then I would become the sultan! Gramps did the same thing apparently. That's where he met Shanks." Luffy nodded to himself. "And then Shanks turned out to be a-"

"Help me..." The group jumped as a faint cry came from behind a dune. Luffy blinked.

"Who's there?"

"Please... help me..." Nami's eyes widened. That voice... Luffy bounded over to the dune before Nami could stop him, exclaiming in shock at what he found. He waved back.

"Usopp! There's someone hurt here! Help me grab him!" Usopp went over and jumped back at what he saw, before disappearing behind the dune with Luffy. Soon the two came back dragging a man with them, plopping him unceremoniously in the center of the group. Johnny and Yosaku were instantly on their guard in front of Kaya as Luffy rolled the man on his back.

Nami's breath hitched at the familiar looking spectacles over his eyes and the smoothed back hair as the man gave out a groan. He looked roughed up, but Nami instinctively knew that the only harm that had befallen the man was self inflicted for the pity effect; a technique she herself used quite often. Johnny and Yosaku's description suddenly fell into place in her mind and her eyes widened in horror as the man sat up with bleary eyes.

"Where... where am I?" Luffy grinned as Nami stepped back in realization from the princess, but she was too focused on the man to notice.

"My name's Luffy! Who are you, mister?" The man carefully adjusted his glasses with the palm of his hand, a maneuver that Nami knew all too well. The man struggled to get to his knees and bowed before Luffy.

"My name... is Klahadore. I thank you for saving me." Nami stared at the princess with something akin to terror as she stood closer to Zoro unconsciously

Who would have thought she would have stumbled on Kuro's target?

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Kuro eyed Nami over the container of water the princess had provided, noting how she seemed to avoid the princess as she watched him. Kuro knew that Nami certainly caught on quickly. Nami had always had a healthy fear of Kuro, as did many of Arlong's men, especially considering what tonight was.

All of Arlong's men knew what a full moon would bring for Kuro. Kuro carefully gave back the container under the watchful eye of the princess' two guards. They were so paranoid (although with good reason) that it almost made Kuro laugh at how they seemed to believe that they could protect the princess.

"Klahadore..." Kuro's eyes raised at his pseudonym. The princess stood and nodded at him. "I believe we never introduced ourselves. My name is-"

"Miss!" One of the guards cried. The other nodded.

"We have been lenient with you so far, but this is where we draw the line! I don't trust him! At least for our sake!" The princess hesitated before nodding slightly. Kuro was amused; didn't they think that he already knew of who she was? At any rate, she continued.

"And these are my... friends. This is Johnny and Yosaku" The two guards raised their swords threateningly. "Usopp." Usopp gave a small wave as the name clicked in Kuro's brain. "Zoro." Zoro only glared at him suspiciously, much to Kuro's annoyance. He would certainly prove to be troublesome. "Nami." Nami stiffened as Kuro practically leered at her. "And..." Here she trailed off. The boy only grinned, showing all of his teeth.

"My name's Luffy D. Monkey, prince of East Blue!" Kuro was taken aback, eyes narrowed as the group around him sighed. So that was Nami's investment; ransom, most likely. What he was doing outside of the palace was curious, but...

"I've heard of you. You're supposed to be murdered." Kuro stated. The princess seemed confused as Luffy frowned.

"Why does everyone keep saying that? No one killed me!" Kuro slowly stood, eying Usopp. Usopp stiffened at the look in Kuro's eye.

"No, I believe that's a question for the young Usopp here. Leader of the Vegetable Bandits, correct?" Usopp flinched as the two guards stopped short in surprise.

"Brother Usopp? What's he saying?" Kuro sneered at Usopp.

"What? You didn't tell your little friends?" Kuro could see how the bandit's separation would benefit him, and continued. "You're the infamous bandit of East Blue; who supposedly kidnapped the prince right out of his home. You were arrested and supposed to be executed, but you escaped the morning of your sentence. Now I see exactly how it is; you've tricked the prince into believing that he was your friend, and you plan to take him for ransom or slit his throat in your sleep. I would expect nothing less from a filthy bandit-" Kuro was cut off as Usopp socked him in the jaw.

Kuro fell to the ground as the shouts sounded off around him, rubbing his face slightly. The hit was quite irritating, but he lay still as he listened. Luffy, surprisingly, was shouting at him.

"Don't you dare say that about my friend! I've known Usopp since before I ran away, and he would never do something like that to anyone, especially nakama! If you ever say anything like that, I'll kick your ass myself!" The princess and her guards were staring at Usopp incredulously. Usopp simply hung his head as she softly asked

"Usopp... Is this true?" Usopp shook his head.

"No! Luffy is my best friend! I would never do something like that!" Johnny stepped forward, eyes narrowed.

"But what about the bandit part?" Usopp flinched.

"That... That's true." Yosaku stepped forward threateningly as Usopp rushed to explain. "B-But I didn't _want_ to become a bandit! I just didn't have any food, and I needed to live! I would never hurt anyone!" Kuro growled under his breath as he stood, dusting off his cloak.

"So that's it then. You're nothing but a filthy _street rat_." Usopp stepped back at the venom in Kuro's voice. "Doing anything to preserve your pathetic existence. I can tell immediately that you're simply living off of the prince's hospitality, and perhaps plan to do the same with the princess here as well-" Usopp jumped forward and raised his fist again, only to be stopped by

"S-Stop!" Usopp paused in surprise, turning back to see the princess standing with a furious look on her face.

"Usopp... you can't hurt people for such things. Klahadore doesn't know you, but... Why would you lie to me?" Kaya asked softly, small tears in the corner of her eyes. "Where you really only kind to us... for food?" Usopp dropped Kuro and held up his hands as he stepped forward.

"Of course not! I really liked hanging out with you guys! You're kind, and smart, and-" Johnny and Yosaku stepped forward with their swords, a hard look in their eyes.

"That's enough!" Johnny growled out. Yosaku nodded.

"I think it's best if we depart ways here. We'll take Klahadore with us." Zoro held Luffy back as he growled at Kuro.

"Damn bastard! Don't you dare talk to my friend like that! Usopp's-"

"It's okay, Luffy." Usopp said sadly, turning back to his horse. "I think it's best if we leave them alone." Kuro watched silently as Usopp mounted the horse, the green-haired swordsman doing the same with his own horse. The princess offered Kuro her camel, stating that he was still weak, no doubt. Kuro looked back and smirked at Nami, who only looked away.

Kuro shrugged as the group split in two, the princess and her escorts going with him one way and Luffy and his group going another way. Kuro's eyes gleamed slightly as he eyed the sun that was just beginning to set back towards the horizon. With the minor threats to his plan gone, Kuro could easily slaughter the three.

He would have blood tonight, and it would spill with the rise of the full moon. All according to plan.

**O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

… Please don't kill me. D:

Other than that, this chapter was a little... dark. This whole fic is quite dark compared to early One Piece, if you think about it. But they don't call the times the 'Dark Ages' for nothing! :D

And you get something about Zoro's past (sort of) thanks to Kaya's brilliant observations! He does, in fact, have Wado Ichimonji! And he's a bit depressed... :x

Kuro is such an ass, don't you agree? But you _will_ learn a bit more about Zoro during this arc, and the ever popular question of what he was cursed by, and how!

… Anyway, a big thanks to kouriel, P, -RoronoaToki-, bookishangel, Tamari, animeXIII, and cb for your amazing reviews! Did I mention that your beautimus compliments made me blush? ^3^

Oh, and I forgot to mention, Tamari, that I'm glad you approve of my profile! A ZoRo fan, eh? I actually do enjoy it sometimes, but I'm mostly a ZoNa fan! Although I also love LuNa and ZoTash... But Tashigi really pisses me off sometimes. I'm not sure why. And are you _mad_? Franky was practically _made_ for Robin! ;DDD The fact that Robin... manhandled him only sealed the deal! You could see the sparks fly throughout the entire Enies Lobby arc~ xDDD

Please review, and I hope that you guys are getting a kick out of all of these twists and turns! I know most people, when writing AUs in different settings, really tend to stick to the same plot, but then the WOULD NEVER factors came into play. So now the whole 'one degree turn' factor has been set off, and this is slowly evolving into a whole other thing...

Until next time! :D

… But please don't kill me, really. D8


	10. Vikings

I just reread chapter 586... WOO! I celebrate ANY AND ALL chapters with the amazing Dragon in it! I CELEBRATE CHAPTER 586! *throws confetti* WHOOOOOOOOOO~

… Ahem. This chapter picks up on the dark mood from the last part of the last chapter (apparently I still need to get it out of my system) but it eventually cheers up~! :D There's just no way around Kuro and his general angst-influencing words, though. There's a reason he's considered such a hard core psychopath.

And it seems a bit rushed, but there just didn't seem to be a way around it without causing a whole plethora of problems! And this is kind of important. But if I was being honest, I'd say I was trying to keep up the bad mood the chapter was in and then simply dropped it saying 'Get it off, GET IT OFF!'

But gueeeeess whaaaaat~? FLASHBACK AHOY! x333 I'm quite happy to be typing it, because Zoro's past is one of the few things that I did my research for. All will be explained... at the end note. For now, please read my silly chapter~!

I don't own One Piece or Aladdin~! I'm in the oddest mood and keep putting little squiggles at the end of my sentences~! Wheeeeee~ 8333

Oh yeah, and I only have a _part_ of the flashback here... *gets bricked*

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Usopp was silent as the sun began to fall towards the dunes, Luffy also quite behind him. Nami flinched at the look on his face when she turned.

"... I'm sorry." Usopp looked up at Nami questioningly. He shook his head.

"It's okay. I really am just a street rat. I just called myself a bandit because it was a little more... grand." Usopp smiled slightly. "My mom always told me about my dad, who was supposed to be a great bandit. She said that before he was executed, he was a man that traveled the entire country for adventure, and adventure alone. He was called a bandit because he and his group never had any money, and had to steal to survive. When my mom died, and I was living in the streets, I thought that someday I could have adventures just like him." Luffy was silent as Nami turned away.

"It wasn't right." She simply said. "It wasn't right for that man to talk about you like that." Usopp shrugged.

"It's okay. I didn't think I could hang around Kaya so long anyway. She was a princess, after all." Suddenly Usopp blinked as he thought of something. "Huh, that's odd..." Nami turned back.

"What is?" Usopp shook his head slightly.

"When he was accusing me, he referred to Kaya as 'the princess'." Usopp looked over at Zoro, who seemed to understand.

"The two guards didn't let her say what she was." Usopp nodded.

"Exactly. He already knew about her, so why would he..." Suddenly Usopp's eyes widened, and he stopped the horse. "Oh Allah, why didn't I see it? Of course!" Usopp whipped the horse around, much to Luffy's confusion.

"I don't get it. What's with him?" Usopp said nothing and kicked the horse into a dash. The other two caught up, Zoro's cuffs sparked slightly as Usopp winced and brought the horse a little closer to him. Nami seemed panicked.

"What are you doing?" Usopp shook his head frantically.

"There's no time! They'll all go to sleep soon, and..." Luffy shook Usopp's shoulder.

"What? What's wrong with them sleeping?" Usopp groaned.

"Don't you see? _Klahadore_ was the one that attacked the palace! He was tracking her this entire time! He's going to finish the job when Johnny and Yosaku are asleep!" Zoro nodded solemnly.

"It looks like the cat caught up to its mouse."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Kuro grinned at the setting sun from atop Kaya's camel. Merri seemed uneasy beneath him, glancing back at his rider or faltering in his steps. But he was a faithful camel, and continued to plod alongside his mistress.

Kaya, on the other hand, seemed sick. Even with Johnny and Yosaku to support her, she often stumbled slightly in her steps or paused to catch her breath. Kuro rolled his eyes slightly, but at a cue (glare) from the guards asked tenderly

"Whatever is the matter, miss?" Kaya smiled up at him slightly.

"Oh, nothing. Just a little under the weather, that's all." Johnny glared up at Kuro.

"She's been sick ever since we left. The episode with Usopp made it worse! She needs her camel back, _now_!" Kaya whirled to scold Johnny for his rudeness, but Kuro simply slid off the camel.

"I apologize. Any weakness on my part will simply have to be dealt with on my own. Obviously you need a ride more than myself." Kuro bowed as he spoke, surprising Johnny and Yosaku. They helped Kaya up on Merri, then carefully thanked Kuro. Kuro simply shrugged.

"It's the least I can do. You have all been quite generous towards me, after all." Yosaku nodded slightly.

"Still... did you have to be so cruel to that man?" Yosaku kept his voice to a whisper as to not disturb Kaya. "Even if he was only nice to us for survival, he probably didn't have a choice." Johnny nodded.

"And he must have been a great actor too. I didn't even see it, and I'm a natural lie detector!" Kuro scowled slightly.

"Indeed. He must have been top class, no doubt." Kuro rolled his eyes as he watched the day fade almost impatiently. The moon wouldn't rise for at least an hour after the sun set, and he wanted the job to be over quickly. Kuro carefully palmed his glasses into place. Patience, he reminded himself. Patience.

It most definitely broke his concentration with the cloud of dust coming up behind him.

The other three turned and stared as two horses and a camel came up behind them, one of the riders jumping off and running towards them. Kaya squinted slightly.

"Usopp?" Kuro scowled as Usopp ran towards them, a furious look on his face.

"What is that rat doing here?" He sneered. Johnny stepped forward slightly.

"Brother Usopp? What are you doing here?" Usopp nearly collapsed as he came up to them, panting as he rested his hands on his knees.

"Klahadore... lying... to you..." He wheezed. Yosaku blinked.

"Eh?" Usopp stood and pointed at Kuro.

"He's... going to... kill you all!" Kaya frowned as she descended her camel, the other part of Luffy's group coming up behind Usopp.

"Usopp... spreading stories about other people is cruel. I didn't expect you to stoop so low." Nami stayed behind Zoro as Luffy walked up, not meeting Kuro's demanding gaze. Kuro calmly stepped forward.

"Now, now, this boy obviously has something to say. What is it, rat?" Usopp glared.

"You're the one who attacked Syrup Palace!" The group was silent as the accusation rang out. "You're the one who's been after Kaya! You already knew that she was the princess of Syrup, and you've been following her this entire time!" Kaya narrowed her eyes.

"Usopp, that's enough!" Usopp ignored her, walking up to Kuro dangerously.

"The second that they go to sleep, you'll slit their throats, all of them! You murdered all of those people, even Kaya's father-" Usopp was cut off by a resounding slap.

Luffy, Zoro, Johnny, Yosaku and Nami all winced as Usopp stepped back in shock, a hand going to his red cheek. Kaya stood in front of Kuro, breathing heavily. She glared at Usopp furiously.

"How _dare_ you! How dare you attack someone you don't even know, and how dare you lie about something like _that_?" Her breathing grew ragged. "People _dying_ isn't an excuse to lie about someone that you don't like! It's **sick**! My father was _murdered_, Usopp! Murdered!" She began coughing, tears spilling out of her eyes. Johnny and Yosaku stepped forward, glaring at Usopp in disappointment. Kaya looked at Usopp sadly.

"All of them..." She said softly. "Died. That is something that is not to be brought up unless with the most serious countenance, and you've slandered all of those good people by using their memory... for a lie!" Usopp slowly backed away as she began sobbing. Nami took one look at his stricken face, then back to the sneer on Kuro's face as he glanced at the sun that was now completely set.

This was going too far, even for Nami.

"It's not a lie!" She came up, much to Kuro's surprise. Kaya stared at her in shock. Nami felt as though she were going to fall apart from fear, but glared at Kuro as she pointed at him. "That's too much! Too much, _Kuro_!" She emphasized, even to Usopp's surprise. "I can't take this anymore! Everyone, this isn't some lone traveler! This isn't even a _human_! He's-" Nami was cut off by a long, sharp claw being held up to her throat.

The entire group shouted in surprise as Kuro materialized in front of Nami, a single claw held out as his eyes glowed an ominous red. "You disappoint me, Nami... I thought that we could trust each other." Luffy trembled in rage, but did nothing with Nami being in a vulnerable position.

"You... you monster!" Usopp croaked. "Let go of her!" Kuro turned and regarded Usopp calmly.

"I don't know how you found all that out, seeing how Nami here is usually so much more... level headed." He pressed slightly against Nami's throat as he spoke, drawing a tiny amount of blood. Luffy seethed, Zoro placing a hand on his shoulder in warning. "But my dear princess... Unfortunately, the street rat was telling the truth." As Kuro spoke, he held up his other hand and claws sprouted from his other fingers. He turned towards the trembling Kaya, fully revealing red eyes. Yosaku trembled.

"Those eyes... it _is_ the attacker! He's some sort of demon!" Kuro chuckled darkly.

"Ah ah ah, that's such a filthy word. I call it... _cursed_." He practically purred in Nami's ear. Luffy finally shook off Zoro's hand.

"YOU GET AWAY FROM NAMI!" He shot forward his arm then, completely knocking away the startled Kuro. Kaya and the guards stared at Luffy as his stretched arm grabbed Nami and pulled her close. "That was for Usopp!" Nami coughed, leaning forward as Zoro caught her, easing her to the ground. Kuro slowly stood, palming his glasses with his clawed hands.

"Well, that was certainly interesting. A devil fruit, am I correct?" Kaya stared at Luffy.

"Devil fruit...?" Luffy glared at Kuro.

"I'm going to kick your ass! You've hurt my nakama too many times!" Nami leaned forward from the sand.

"Luffy, don't!" She yelped. "The moon is rising!" Usopp turned and looked towards the full moon, which was slowly coming up over the dunes. Kuro followed their gazes and smirked.

"I suppose you don't know exactly what it means, but I believe Nami can attest that." Nami shook her head.

"Don't! He's buying time! We need to get out of here, _now_! Luffy, if there was any time for a wish, it's now!" Luffy glared at Kuro, who regarded Nami's words carefully.

"I'm going to kick his ass anyway!" Kuro ignored Luffy, staring at Nami.

"Wish, you say?" Usopp glared at him with false bravado, trembling.

"Th-That's right! Z-Zoro is a th-thousand years old g-genie!" Kuro looked at Zoro in renewed interest.

"I see. You... you're Roronoa Zoro." Johnny and Yosaku gasped in unison. Kaya stared at them.

"Who?"

"Roronoa Zoro is a legend, Miss Kaya!" Johnny explained. Yosaku nodded.

"He was supposed to be a demon swordsman a thousand years ago, traveling the entire world! He was considered the greatest swordsman in the entire world!" Kuro laughed, drawing the group's attention.

"But that's no more than a lie, isn't it, Roronoa?" Zoro growled something under his breath. "I'm sorry, what was that? You _weren't_ the greatest?" Johnny scowled.

"Roronoa Zoro _was_ the greatest! He was the most amazing swordsman of his time!"

"That's not true." The group turned to Zoro, who scowled down at the ground. "I never achieved becoming the greatest. I never kept my promise." Luffy blinked.

"Promise?" He was ignored as Kuro sadly shook his head.

"Yes, there are many legends around the world of the man who attempted the achievement of a lifetime. The one who sailed around the world trying to become the greatest swordsman in the world. But they all ended with a single story, one from my own country, a thousand years ago..." Kuro nodded to himself. "Yes, I believe it began in a little village called... What was it again?"

"Shell." The group turned to Zoro, who was staring off into space. "Shell Village." Kuro nodded.

"Yes, a small coast on the northern part of Europe. A quaint little town, but it soon grew into the most successful harbor of the area. I don't suppose you can guess why?" Nami scowled.

"No! You're just stalling for time! Come on Luffy, we have to get out of here!" Nami tried tugging on Luffy's arm, but he was staring at Zoro with a blank expression.

"What promise, Zoro?" Zoro said nothing, apparently lost in his own memories. Nami scowled, walking over to him and shaking his arm.

"Come on, Zoro! Snap out of it! We're running out of time!" Kuro held up a hand.

"Now, now, Nami. I believe I was in the middle of a story. And I think you have a right to know _exactly_ what you're traveling with." Nami scowled at Kuro.

"A genie, yes, I know!" Kuro shook his head sadly.

"You all condemn me for having my curse, but yet you travel with _him_, one that was cursed himself." Kaya blinked.

"Curse...?" Kuro smirked.

"Cursed to die that very year, over a thousand years ago. Needless to say, it didn't work. But I never did mention how Shell turned into such a prosperous harbor, did I? The village was the lone survivor of the area of the viking raids. All because a lone swordsman decided to attempt to save something that wasn't his. There are still carvings about it, some songs floating around. In Shell Harbor you can find a dedication to the man that apparently saved the entire country, and his words of how he was inspired by that very man." Kuro then sneered at Zoro. "The very man who couldn't keep a single promise, if only because he became cursed during the battle. The man who, in all aspects of the word, _failed_." Zoro seemed almost sick as Usopp looked at him curiously.

"Zoro? What happened then?"

Zoro didn't reply, and he only thought of that little town on the sea.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Ririka stared at the sight just outside of her little tavern.

"Mommy, can I keep him _please?"_ Rika cried. Ririka wasn't sure whether to coo at the sight of her six-year-old daughter's pleading eyes or to hold her close and slam the door.

"Dear..." Ririka began slowly. She slowly shook her head. "I don't think you can keep... _him_."

The him in question was a man, with odd green hair and a permanent scowl on his face, even in his unconsciousness. Ririka wasn't sure how her daughter had managed to drag the buff man up to the town from where ever she found him, but of all the things to ask to keep... Rika looked up with sad eyes.

"Pleeease Mommy? He could be a mermaid! I found him in the ocean, and look at his hair!" She gave his seaweed hair a tug for emphasis. "And he has those really cool earrings too! I'll feed him everyday, and I'll give him fresh water always!" Ririka had to giggle at her daughter.

"Honey, I think he's a shipwreck survivor." Rika scowled.

"No, he's a mermaid! He's gonna be my new big brother, too!" Ririka blinked.

"Ah, Rika..." Suddenly the man in question gave a groan, making Ririka snatch up her daughter. She carefully backed away as the man rolled onto his stomach, and cursed herself silently for allowing Rika to drag the man all the way into her tavern. The man pushed himself up with his hands and blinked blearily at the two in front of her.

"... Eh?" He seemed utterly confused. Rika wriggled out of her mother's arms and stood in front of him, beaming.

"Hi! My name's Rika, and this is my mom! You're my new big brother!" Ririka snatched back her daughter and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Rika is a bit... silly." The man only stared at them for a bit, then looked around as though he couldn't believe where he was. "You were shipwrecked, right? Rika said she found you on the beach." The man looked down at himself then fixed his gaze on the little girl.

"My katana?" Rika blinked.

"You mean those weird swords? I left them outside; I'll go get them!" Rika raced out the door before her mother could stop her. Ririka grew worried; was the man going to harm them? He certainly seemed angry about something, although he could just have that kind of face...

Rika raced back inside, a bundle in her arms. "I found them~!" The man all but snatched the swords away from her, then looked around.

"The white one?" Rika blinked.

"There was only those two..." Ririka stared at the swords oddly. They were two curved, thin swords with matching black sheaths. However, the man scowled down at them.

"Shit..." He growled under his breath. He then raggedly pushed himself up, stumbling to his feet. His boots clumped against the wooden floor as he all but dragged himself towards the door. Ririka stared; weren't shipwreck survivors supposed to be hungry and dehydrated? Most likely to die soon?

As if in response the man's stomach gave forth a growl like that of a beast. He didn't seem to notice. Rika gave a little cry as he nearly fell forward on his face, picking himself up.

"Hey! You can't leave yet; you're hungry! Mommy said that people who need to eat are always welcome here, right Mommy?" The man ignored Rika's protests and stumbled out the door.

Ririka had to admit, she was fascinated by the man's one track mind. However, when he got to the road outside he seemed more lost than before. She walked over and carefully laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I think you need to eat before you leave." She stated firmly, all but dragging him back inside. "You can find your other sword after a good meal."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Ririka was impressed with the way the man wolfed down his food. Rika watched him eat nearly three plates of food in awe.

"Brother, when was the last time you ate?" The man blinked at the word, but shrugged.

"About nine days." Ririka's eyes widened.

"You've been out in the ocean for nine days?" He blinked.

"No. I've only been out to sea for a week. I just haven't eaten for nine days." With that the man stood, formally bowing his entire upper body to Ririka; a custom unheard of in their country. "Thank you very much for the meal. I have no money to pay you with, but as soon as I retrieve my katana I will find a way to pay off my debt. You have my word as a swordsman." Ririka blinked.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" The man shook his head. "What is your name?"

"Roronoa Zoro."

"Your name's Roronoa?"

"No, my family name is Roronoa. My name is Zoro." Zoro walked towards the door, then paused at the sight of the road. "... Where _is_ the beach?" Rika giggled, grabbing his hand. She then looked up at Zoro with all the seriousness in the world.

"If I take you to the ocean, do you promise not to swim away?" Zoro blinked down oddly at her but smirked slightly.

"I promise." Rika beamed up at him.

"That's good! I heard that mermaids try to swim away the second that you take them back, but at least you promised!" Ririka watched his face morph into a perplexed frown as Rika dragged him away.

"Mermaid?"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"Zooorooo~! Look what I found~!" Rika laughed as she raced up to the sleeping man. The two were on the beach where Zoro was found two weeks later, the sun hidden behind an odd fog over the horizon that morning. Zoro always insisted that if she was going to play, it might as well be where his sword might turn up. Rika agreed wholeheartedly, eager to see if Zoro had any more mermaid friends (he stated that he didn't, but then mermaids were often depicted as tricksters.)

Ririka had told Zoro that a simple way to pay off his debt was to watch Rika. There were whispers in the village of them being the target of the infamous Axe vikings; a clan from the northern countries. As such, while Ririka might have had qualms about her daughter being watched by an armed man, Zoro was allowed his katana with little resistance.

As if he'd give up his katana even if she didn't agree. Zoro grunted as he eyed the small bauble in Rika's hand. It was a white, rounded triangle shell; most likely once part of some sort of clam.

"... Looks like an onigiri." He stated. Rika blinked.

"What's that?" Zoro sat himself up, hand resting on his katana.

"It's this rice ball with salt and other stuff. Although..." Rika handed Zoro the shell, and he picked up a nearby piece of seaweed and placed it on the bottom. "There. Now it looks exactly like it." Rika giggled as she took it back. Zoro sweat dropped as she took an experimentary bite. "Oi, oi, oi... It's still not edible, you know." Rika spat out the shell bits, sticking out her tongue in distaste.

"Yuck! That's not good at all! I guess it really does need rice..." Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Yes, it's _made_ of rice." Rika blinked.

"Really...?" She gained a thoughtful expression, looking out towards the sea. Suddenly she blinked at the horizon. "What's that?" Zoro followed his gaze as he stood, hand on his katana.

A ship slowly rumbled out of the fog, and it didn't take a genius to recognize the dragon figurehead and the symbol on the flag. Then a whole armada seemed to form from the fog, all converging towards the village. The shell dropped out of Rika's hand, her eyes widening.

"Vikings..."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"**VIKINGS!**" The cry was accompanied by the sound of the church bell, people frantically seeking shelter in its walls. The men all scrambled to grab their weapons, but the vikings' appearance was simply not enough warning as their ships neared the shores.

Zoro cursed and snatched up Rika as a man raced by, nearly trampling the small girl.

"Get inside!" He roared as he ran by, attempting to strap on a helmet. Zoro scowled as he held the trembling Rika.

"Shit! Where's your mother?" He demanded of Rika, who only pointed to the church on the hill. Zoro ran up to the church, where Ririka was standing outside with a frantic look on her face. She cried out as she took Rika from Zoro's arms.

"Ah, Rika!" She sobbed, holding her daughter close. Ririka looked up at Zoro. "Thank you, Zoro. But I fear we may not... Vikings are known for their lightning attacks and massive hoardes. I can only warn you that the village will not make it, no matter how much we hope it will." Zoro's eyes narrowed as Ririka placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Please, Zoro. I need you to leave this village... and at least take Rika with you." She handed Rika to Zoro again, tears trailing down her face. "When the village is destroyed, will you find somewhere for Rika to stay? The vikings will kill everyone, women and children included. At least give my daughter some hope of living her life, please." Zoro gently placed Rika on the ground, face unreadable. When Ririka looked at him fearfully, he only shook his head.

"In my country... even invading warriors leave behind the women and children. It's considered a sin to completely kill off the invading army, and most simply try to force them into a retreat." Zoro's eyes took on a demonic glint, making Ririka suddenly realize who she was talking to. A real warrior, one that could have easily slaughtered the entire village had he simply wished it.

"You..."

"We aren't in my country though, are we?" With that Zoro drew his swords as he dashed down the hill, a smirk forming on his face. Ririka stood holding Rika's hand, a small smile on her lips.

"God be with you, Roronoa Zoro."

When she went back into the church, she didn't notice Rika slip right back out through the side door and down to the beach.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Coby trembled in the armor the villagers had given him, carefully holding up his spear. How had he come to this? He had finally escaped the viking ship he was trapped on, only to discover that the leader of the fleet had decided to attack the very village he sought refuge in. Luckily the villagers simply thought that he was from a nearby village, and dressed him to fight instead of hiding in the church like he might have planned.

But, Coby thought to himself, I always did want to change my cowardly ways. Perhaps this is the only way to redeem myself, by dying for this village. At the least I'll be able to go out like a man.

An exlamation of surprise drew Coby's attention away from the oncoming ships.

"Boy, what the hell are you _doing_ here?" Coby at first thought the man was talking to him, but then he looked back at the man in question.

A tall, green-haired man wielding two odd swords walked deliberately down to the beach. Both his clothing and his weaponry showed that he was obviously a foreigner, one that most likely had no business with invading vikings.

Like me, Coby thought almost bitterly. The man simply ignored the questions and walked right through the crowd to the beach, where the first viking longboat was just reaching the beach.

"Boy, you're going to be killed! Get back here!" He ignored them again. Coby could see enough of the vikings, from their excited war cries to their vast builds. They were armed to the teeth with clubs, swords, and axes; and all were eager to prove to their tribe just how many men they could slaughter in one go. Coby knew how it worked.

The first long boat jumped onto the beach, and rushed the green-haired man at once; being in large numbers, they always attacked the first man they saw. Coby wasn't sure if he wanted to look away, but what happened next made him unable.

The man gave a small smirk, and then seemed to completely vanish. The vikings stopped short, then whirled in confusion as the man seemed to appear on the other side of their group.

And then there was blood. The vikings all collapsed in a pool of blood as a giant slash appeared on the group, from the farthest viking to the nearest, going right through their chain mail and cutting into their chests.

The villagers all yelled in surprise, but none so loud as Coby. From the time he first stumbled into the viking tribe, he had thought them all to be indestructible killing monsters. Now a lone man took out a whole longboat of them without appearing to have used any effort.

The man looked back with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you going to fight? Or do you need to join the women back at the church?" The men seemed startled, but then let loose a war cry and raced down to join them at the beach, having nearly as much ferocity as the vikings that pulled up to the village. Coby was nearly moved to tears, as the onslaught of villagers seemed to confuse the invading vikings. Vikings generally used the invading technique of mob attacks, something which usually sent the villagers trembling back into their own group and made them easy picking. The actions of this one man had given them the courage to stand up to the hundreds of vikings now all completely unloaded on the shore.

Coby raised his own spear and yelled, charging down and plunging it into a viking. The viking went down with a cry as the spear lodged itself into his stomach. Coby instead took up the viking's sword and charged another one.

He didn't have to die today. He was going to live. And he was still going to be a man about it, thanks to that one swordsman.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zoro scowled to himself as the vikings began to retreat back to their longboats. There hadn't been a single good swordsman among them, despite him going through nearly every crowd of them. They were all no more than mob members seeking glory, and were easily driven back when faced with him.

Not to mention he still only had two swords. He was fairly competent at two sword style, but missed the weight of the white sheathed katana. _Her_ katana. It was all he had of her, and his greatest treasure.

The very thought of him never seeing it again was enough for him to drive into the vikings with perhaps a bit more force than necessary, nearly slicing their bodies in half. His katana were drenched in blood, and even the villagers seemed wary of him, keeping well out of his way when he went from crowd to crowd.

This had all been going along for a while when the last ship pulled onto the beach.

The battles seemed to pause as the ship came to the beach; it was much larger than the other ships, and had a more... grand air to it as well. The vikings that saw it seemed to blanch.

"M-Morgan..."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zoro was brought back to present by Kaya's shouting.

"How could you?" Zoro blinked and looked around. Kuro was standing by Usopp, who was laying on the ground and bleeding heavily from long, deep claw marks across his chest. He must have really been out of it to not notice such. Kuro shrugged, giving Usopp a kick and watching as the boy landed a few feet away.

"He hit me, after all. Wasn't it _you_, miss Kaya, that deemed it unnecessary violence?" Kaya flinched at the reminder. "And was it not _you_ who first punished the boy with violence? Such a hypocritical young girl..." Johnny and Yosaku snarled.

"Don't you talk to Miss Kaya like that!" They took up their swords and charged forward, only to jump back as Kuro slashed out with his claws. Nami stood beside Zoro, trembling as she looked up.

"It's almost here..." Zoro also looked up at the sky, where the moon was almost completely risen.

"Oi, where's Luffy?" Nami stared at him incredulously.

"You missed it? Kuro slammed him into a dune somewhere. We didn't find where he landed..." Zoro blinked down at his cuffs oddly. They weren't giving any zaps...

"Huh, he's close by." He stated. Nami could only hope that he was right. She scowled as Kuro watched them in bemusement.

"There's one thing I don't understand, Nami... Why would you decide to tell them? What would drive you to give up your life?" Nami glared at him.

"I still haven't forgotten her! No matter what I agreed to, it was still _you_!" Kuro sighed tragically.

"And here I thought we could be good partners. Your ways always did impress me. You know I was simply following orders." Nami nearly shook with anger. "And yet..." Kuro grinned as he looked up. "And yet I did enjoy stabbing her in the heart. I even still remember her last words to you at the time. It almost broke my heart..."

"You have no heart you sick bastard!" Nami yelled, clutching her staff. "You were the one that killed her, and I'll never forgive you!" Kuro scowled darkly at Nami.

"Then it's a good thing I never was the apologizing type. I can only imagine Arlong's reaction to this... and how exactly your precious people will pay." Nami jerked, pale. Kuro looked up with a sigh, the moon nearly risen. "Ah, maybe... ten more minutes? I believe your time is almost up."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

This chapter is very, very sloppy. I kept trying to fix it, but... it just wasn't working out. I never was able to do Syrup anything in any story. Just look at the CRAPPY CHAPTER 6 of Horizons; I still need to do something about that one too. TT

So I just put it up here, and I hope that you guys can forgive me. Really. Please?

Thank you to bookishangel, Mayo2198, eternitybeckons, and Neko11 for your reviews! I promise I'll get past this horrid arc soon, so I hope you guys can stick through it!

And did you pick up that I made Kuro from Europe? Britain, to be specific. For some reason, I think that if he were from a real world country, it would be Britain. Maybe it's the butler thing? Stereotypical butlers have that old English accent; like Discovery Channel. 83 And Kuro (because I'm being far too vague) is a werecat. It just isn't properly stated because the term 'werecat' wasn't coined until the 19th century. Until then they were simply known as forms of demons or witches. And here's something cool: In Europe, werecats often took the form of black panthers (if not housecats)! ISN'T THAT CONVENIENT? Of all the cats that most represent Kuro, it would have to be a black panther. That's so cool.

By the way, in case you haven't guessed, the flashback is the reason I didn't include the Morgan arc. It's because it already happened, just a thousand years ago. But we have yet to see what cursed Zoro! Oooh... xC Here's a hint: it has something to do with Norse mythology...

Ugh, I need a nap. I'll most likely have to take down these notes later when I'm sane. THE ONLY THING I EVEN _SEMI_ LIKE ABOUT THIS CHAPTER IS THE FLASHBACK. But review nonetheless? :D


	11. Nightmare

OH GOD I'M SORREEEEEEE! TT3TT I was so busy I almost forgot but NOW I AM BACK AND I HOPE YOU FORGIVE ME.

And then there's summer school. A lot of people thought me amazing because I would update Horizons weekly in the middle of the school year, but I never actually went five days a week. I went to a high school where you only go _two_ days a week. One full day and one half day.

Yes, I cheated. :D

You guys better give Tamari a BIG THANK YOU for reminding me this story existed I SWEAR I almost forgot. Tamari, I saw your reminder and I slapped my forehead, broke out my mp3 and listened to Friend Like Me on loop as I typed FIVE THOUSAND WORDS IN ONE DAY. This is big for someone who ACTUALLY WENT TO SCHOOL AS WELL. *dies*

Yesss, the song Friend Like Me is my well of inspiration. Not Arabian Nights. That's messed up, yo.

Drama llama chapter. I swear, I always feel so silly writing this kind of thing... Embarrassed, really. D:

But then I found that they didn't have _stairs_ in houses in Japan back then, and I began to think about an alternate way for Kuina to die. And then I got carried away. *sweat drop* I realized later that to think not having stairs was silly, and that the source LIED to me but by then... Oh well. :D

Oh yeah, there's blood in this chapter. Lots of it. And implied death. Sort of.

I do not own One Piece or Aladdin. And I really do enjoy this story, I just honestly forgot. ._.;;

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"**It begins on a dark night where a dark man waits, with a dark purpose."**

**~Traveling Merchant**

Kaya felt tears well up in her eyes, but forced them down as she cradled Usopp's head behind Johnny and Yosaku. Usopp looked up at her, despite the blood spilling onto her clothes, and offered a shaky smile.

The tears streamed down Kaya's face.

"Why, Usopp?" She choked out. "Why did you try to save me, even after I said all those horrible things about you? Why would you risk your life like that?" Kaya could still see in her mind how Usopp jumped in front of her when Kuro lunged at her, and how he still clung to his ankle when the demon man tried to step over his fallen body.

"_You will not touch her!"_ Kaya shook her head to dispel the memories as Usopp coughed and spoke.

"You're... a good person, Kaya." He murmured. "My mom... she said my dad was a bandit... but he still cared about good people..." Another cough, and a suspicious sniffle from the two guards in front of her. "I didn't make the Vegetable Bandits for money, or even for food... I made it for a _family_. You care about your family... that makes you a good person, right?" He grinned up at her, and she could only hold him a little tighter.

The guards in front of her burst into tears.

"Broooootherrrrrr!" They wailed. Usopp rolled his eyes as they turned around with tears almost comically falling down their faces.

"You killed the mood."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zoro scowled as he fended off the claws with another wave of his sword, wondering how long he could hold off. Normally he would have simply placed the sword in his mouth and drawn his last sword, then blazed right through his opponent, but Kuro was far too quick to ensure that he would get him with one strike.

And if he wasn't standing in front of Kuro, he would get to Usopp.

The thought honestly surprised Zoro. Why should he care what happened to Usopp? He was a thousand years old (in his prime, damn it all), and he knew he would outlast any master he ever got. Luffy would make his last two wishes eventually, and then he would never see his headache-inducing ragtag band of idiots ever again...

The thought of leaving them almost _hurt._ No schemes pulled off by the crazy prince, no face-splitting grin when he had to be dragged back by Usopp, no fantastical stories from the pathological liar, no motherly nagging from the greedy witch, only the inside of that damned lamp.

Zoro remembered when he had first become a genie, and life didn't get much more painful than _that_. In comparison, a sword through his chest might have felt like a feather. When he thought about how much it had hurt, he could easily dismiss any other kind of pain. Like how when he thought about losing Kuina, or even that damned _thing_ soaring right into him and forever... Well, anything compared to those events made life almost boring.

But he didn't want to leave the group. It was painful to admit, but he honestly felt like real _nakama_. Anyone from his country knew what such a bond was, and how many had searched for such a thing was incredible. Even in his travels he had always isolated himself from such a thing, because eventually people leave or die, and the pain of losing them was something that hurt even after a thousand years.

_Kuina_.

"_You're weak, Zoro." _The face taunted at his mind as he struggled to push back the long, sharp claws. _"Can't even beat a-" And then the voice would go silent, and the face would twist into something sour. Kanaye, his name was. A fitting name, for it meant 'zealous one'. And everyone knew how hard Kanaye worked for his goal of becoming the world's greatest swordsman._

_Zoro challenged him. He lost, but with honor. Under the rising moon, he swore that he would become the greatest swordsman in the world, and they could fight for that honor for the rest of their days. And Kanaye began to cry._

"_I... I can't." Zoro gave a start. Glared._

"_Why not?" He demanded. Kanaye looked his way and sniffled._

"_Because Oto-san says a girl can't become the greatest swordsman in the world." Zoro then looked past the cropped hair and boyish smirk that usually sported the face, and __**stared**__._

_Kanaye was a __**girl**__. No one at the dojo had known, not even himself. Women were forbidden to learn the ways of the samurai that fought at the front lines. But she was the best, and not even he could beat her. Zoro shook his head in disbelief._

"_B-But..."_

"_I'm sorry." She whispered. "But you'll have your dream, because when girls grow up, they get weak. It's why we're not allowed to fight with other samurai. Soon... I'll have to disappear. Oto-san always said that someday I would, and then I'd reappear as a girl, and no one would know the difference. I'd just have to sit back and learn to be a real lady, because I can't be a real warrior..."_

"_Shut up!" The girl gave a start and turned to Zoro who was shaking in rage. "You're saying that this whole time, all of my training to defeat __**you**__, is going to be thrown away because you're a __**girl**__?" Zoro marched up to her and stared her in the face. "You've always beat me because you were determined to win! Not because of what you were, but because of what you did! And you're going to throw that away because you're a girl!" Zoro scowled and held out a hand._

"_A promise! One of us __**is**__ going to become the world's greatest swordsman, because we're __**both**__ going to work for it! We're going to reach that goal together, and nothing will stand in our way!" Kanaye sniffled as she stared at the offered hand._

"_... Kuina."_

"_Eh?"_

"_My real name... it's Kuina..." A grin. She slapped her hand in his own. "And I'll remind you when I defeat you again, and when you lie in front of me because I became the world's greatest swords__**woman**__, and you were left behind." They shook. Zoro grinned back._

"_Don't count on it!"_

Zoro was shaken out of his thoughts by a faint noise. He gave a start as Kuro broke off, looking up with interest.

"Ah, he's returned." Kuro grinned. He then took three steps back.

**BOOM!**

The noise was Luffy yelling as he fell from the sky. Had Zoro asked, he would have heard about how Kuro had given Luffy a good swing and how Luffy had flown off so quickly that no one could tell where he'd gone.

Well, apparently he'd gone _up_. Luffy shook the sand from his vest as he stood, holding a hand to his hat. "Wow, that's was scary." Kuro's eyes narrowed.

"I honestly expected you to be a few minutes longer... Ah, well, the moon is just about right." He gave a glance to the full moon, which was nearly fully exposed. "The fun is just beginning." Luffy tilted his head in confusion.

"What fun? This isn't fun at all!" Zoro nearly slapped his forehead, if it wouldn't mean beheading himself with his swords in his hands. And he wasn't dropping those until Kuro was gone.

"Idiot!" Luffy looked back at Kaya and Usopp, who were cowering behind the beaten Johnny and Yosaku. Luffy narrowed his eyes as he cracked his knuckles.

"It's just me, Zoro and the bastard then. I told you I'd kick your ass!" Kuro only shook his head.

"Honestly, placing so much trust in someone that could so easily turn on you. There are more stories besides the one from up north, you know. Like a certain one from Japan..." Kuro mused to himself, sliding sideways to avoid a punch by Luffy. "Ah, I'm getting ahead of myself. Perhaps it started when your little friend was murdered?" Zoro's eyes narrowed and he snarled under his breath, charging forward with his swords outstretched. Kuro only sidled behind him.

"And when he took vengeance, the walls were painted in blood." Kuro recited silkly. "The tale of the child of Asura that killed a group of rouge warriors with three swords. Do you remember, Roronoa?" The voice seemed to ring in Zoro's head.

"Do you remember how she _died_?" Zoro growled something under his breath and charged after Kuro, the thoughts still ringing in his head.

"_Ha, this one was a __**girl**__!"_

"_Bastard...!"_

"_Oh? One of them's still alive..."_

"_Aw, leave him. Not much he can do anyway." Zoro coughed, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth._

"_I'll... I'll kill you..." A figure crouched down and patted Zoro's head as he lay in the dirt, the dojo burning behind him. "Listen kid... nothing personal, right? You've got two swords, but you'd need a thousand to deal with us! Don't even try, just live. Humans are fragile little things, after all. One little snap, one misplaced sword, and life's over for you." Zoro attempted to meet the face looking down on him in contempt, but even in the firelight of his home and the moonlight from above, all he could make out were shadows crouched over his friend._

_And glowing red eyes that burned into memory._

Kuro's eyes glowed red as Zoro recalled the night, and it only seemed to add fuel to the fire as he charged forward. Kuro sighed as he skipped back from the blades again.

"So tragic. You almost seem to blame _me_ for the creatures that took away your home." Kuro darted in with a swipe that nearly cut Zoro across the chest if not for his block. Kuro skipped out with a grin. "People may call you some sort of demon god, but you were nothing more than a rogue samurai gone wrong the day you lost everything! An honorable warrior of the time would stab themselves after taking such measures..." Another swipe, another lazy dodge. "But you were one of the few that decided to live!"

_Zoro gripped his swords like his life depended on it as he looked over Kanaye's... no, Kuina's body. His master lay dead in the dojo that was no more than ashes by now, and tears streamed down his face. Students fallen around him... and Kuina's sword still glistened in the moonlight._

_And the blade pointed to the forest the demons had all but melted into._

Luffy leaped forward and attempted to slam Kuro down, but he missed. Narrowly, but missed nonetheless. He was getting faster. Or Kuro was getting slower. Kuro hissed as he jumped back, glaring at Luffy.

Then stiffened and looked up at the sky as though in a trance. Zoro followed his gaze to where the full moon was completely risen. Kuro began laughing, an almost hysterical sound, as his form seemed to waver, shifting into a nightmarish monster.

"**And now time's up! And you've been deserted!**" The creature snarled. Belatedly Zoro realized that Nami had disappeared. Luffy stared with wide eyes as the thing grew to massive proportions, black silky fur over what was once human skin.

A black panther that walked as a man, with eyes as red as blood and fangs that gleamed in the moonlight. And claws that flew towards Luffy with an almost desperate snatch.

Blood flew.

_They really hadn't thought much of it. A kid that decided to take revenge on his master by following the demons back to their group. What caught their attention was the painted sword, a fine blade indeed, firmly clenched in his teeth._

_Not that the kid had anywhere else to put it, what with his hands being occupied with his other two swords. Claws sharpened on stone, fully expecting to at least give the kid a quick death. Even they respected such bravery. Or foolishness._

_The eyes narrowed above the blade, the hilt in his mouth still red from the hand of its former master. It was all they had of warning before steel the color of the moon flashed._

_And blood followed like the tide._

Luffy staggered back, claw marks visible on his chest as the thing then tackled Zoro. A muzzled snarl erupted in his face and he shoved off the thing before reaching for his last sword...

Only to realize his hands were empty, and he had only Kuina's sword left. He cursed words in a snarl as he drew his last sword just in time to block another swipe of claws, and the eyes seemed to glow in delight as he staggered back.

"Sh-Shit!" A dodge, a swipe, still going backwards. "I'm not good at-" Duck. Now. Almost got a haircut, there. "One sword!" Anything else was cut off by a back hand and he flew into a nearby dune, hand clenching his last sword like his life depended on it. And it did, in a way. He looked around wildly, but his swords were no where to be found.

"**Looking for these?**" The thing hissed, and Zoro could just make out his swords wrapped up in a long, black snake of a tail. Then the tail flung the swords out of sight among the dunes.

Zoro saw red.

"Swords that aren't yours..." He charged forward, sword held down. "Need to be treated with respect!" An almost wild slash, and Kuro staggered away. A faint trickle of blood dripped down from a small cut on his cheek. Zoro grinned... and ducked.

Luffy came in for a punch right above the genie, right in Kuro's face as the cat staggered backwards, clawed hand at his jaw. Luffy grinned dangerously.

"That one was for Usopp! Gomu gomu no..." The he charged forward, punches flying towards Kuro so it seemed as though there were more than two fists flying his way. "Gatling Gun!"

Eventually Kuro flipped backwards on the dune some yards away and snarled at them.

"**You can't defeat me! No one can!**" He roared, then sprang forward not towards Luffy or Zoro, but towards the princess and her two guards, all frozen with terror. "**You've **_**failed**_**!**"

Luffy's eyes widened and he leapt after Kuro, tackling him away from the four just in time.

"Don't you dare!" He shouted. Kuro only charged towards Luffy. Zoro swore under his breath, but without all of his swords...

"Heads up!" A voice called, and Zoro blinked as he saw his swords suddenly fly towards him and dig into the sand in front of him. An orange head peeked over some nearby dunes, and Nami winked at him.

Zoro stared incredulously. "You... _threw_ my swords?" Nami snorted.

"You're welcome." Yes, Zoro thought he certainly would miss this group as he placed the white sword in his mouth and pulled the other two from the sand.

"Thanks." Meanwhile Luffy was sent sprawling in front of the guards, and Kuro was leaping forward with claws outstretched...

A flash of steel, and Kuro was sent backwards with the telltale slash mark on his chest. Zoro growled as he stood in front of Luffy, Kuro falling in front of him.

"Bastard. I hate attacks on those who've fallen." He didn't save them, Zoro reminded himself. Otherwise the cuffs would have stopped him mid swing. He was only... attacking what attacked him first. Yeah.

Luffy still sent him a grin that said otherwise. "Thanks!"

"I didn't-" Luffy only tackled Kuro. "... Save you." Zoro scowled under his breath as he stood watching for when Luffy would get off of Kuro, and he could slice up the bastard some more. "Idiot."

"S-So cool..." Johnny breathed behind him. Zoro almost twitched, then sighed.

"Usopp, how you holding up?" He couldn't see him, but Usopp reached up a hand that he slowly curled into a thumbs up. "Hmph. That takes away a possible wish then..." He could hear Usopp slam to the ground in disbelief, but only grinned to himself. Just a little.

Luffy got his arms and legs wrapped around Kuro's arms and legs. "Stay still!" He yelled, eyes ablaze. "I told you I'd stop you! Gomu gomu no..." his neck stretched back, then he slammed it forward. "Kane!"

His head smashed against the back of Kuro's skull with enough force to send the cat-like beast into the sand below.

_It was over soon. A battle fought against the rage of something that turned their own slaughter against them, something unheard of for a samurai, which never fought in the dark, and never attacked from the shadows._

_The demon that leaned against the wall with its last ragged breaths was very sorry to be on this side of such. He stared in awe at the child in front of him that still clenched the sword between his teeth._

"_Who __**are**__ you?" The boy seemed about ready to collapse, but stood tall and looked the demon right in the eye._

"_I am Roronoa Zoro." He stated firmly. "And I'm going to be the greatest swordsman in the world! Someday my name will reach the heavens themselves, and..." He choked back a sob, and the demon seemed to realize all over again how young he was to lose a friend. But he hadn't lied; it was nothing personal. They only needed to feed. "And I'll keep my side of the deal." The boy said softly, carefully taking the sword from his mouth and staring at the painted blade._

_Even in his last hour, the demon didn't doubt him._

There was an odd silence as they all gathered around the still form of the monster, Nami looking down in awe.

"He's... really gone." She murmured. Kaya's lip trembled as she took in the odd panther features on his face.

"What _is_ he?" She whispered.

"Cursed." Zoro stated flatly, wiping his swords against a cloth. "Born normal, but cursed somewhere. He was probably a pirate. Luck, good or bad, seems to cling to sailors like the salt of the sea." Nami's eyes snapped up to Zoro.

"How do you know?" Zoro looked over the blade in his hand before sheathing it, staring right back.

"_Things_ never leave you alone, once you've done something wrong." He said, face blank. "Like stepping into a demon's home uninvited, or killing a rogue group of them in vengeance." He scowled. "Then no matter where you go, you get targeted by some sort of black luck." Luffy blinked.

"Black luck? Like what?" Zoro only stared pointedly at Kuro, and the group shivered. Yosaku stared at Zoro.

"How do you know that, brother?" He asked. Zoro shrugged.

"I'm not supposed to be alive. I was supposed to die long, long ago. And look at me now." Zoro snorted. "Eternity of servitude. Stuck in a common household object for living quarters." Usopp blinked, sitting up from where he had been bandaged by Nami.

"Didn't you say that was _your_ choice?" He wondered out loud. Zoro scowled.

"Obviously I had a reason, baka." He growled out, then walked back to the horses. "We should set up camp." Luffy then let out an exclamation of how cold it was, much to the annoyance of the others. But they couldn't blame him; in the heat of the battle with the odd creature, they hadn't realized just how cold the night was. Nami sighed and walked over to the camels.

"I'll get the tents out. Zoro, start the fire." Zoro grumbled under his breath, but did as she said anyway.

"Damned witch."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

The vikings all froze as the boat pulled up on the shore, and a burly figure leaped out onto the sands below, more vikings following behind him.

"What is going on here?" The man bellowed, though the town wondered how such was possible with the odd metal that seemed almost fused to his chin and up to his mouth. The man was... huge. Big, bulking muscles, and a single strong arm that ended in a large axe. Prosthetics were special after all, and axes were manly. At least this had been Morgan the Axe's reasoning behind his unusual appearance. Only it was said with much more yelling, and a lot less consideration for the village healer that had only told him it was impossible.

The smeared stain on the wall was a reminder to the next healer that carefully attached the axe to the severed stump on the viking leader.

Morgan's eyes narrowed as he looked over the fallen vikings under his command, snorting in contempt. "Huh, a bunch of weak villagers and _this_ is what I find." One of the nearby vikings squeaked.

The axe flew and the viking was erased from existence. Morgan proudly held up his axe at the terrified villagers. "This axe is a symbol of my power! How dare you oppose me! You will all **perish**!" He roared, veins bulging on his neck.

Zoro snorted, and Morgan's attention whipped to him like a snake. Morgan's eyes widened. "You!" Zoro stared at him oddly as his face curled into a sneer. "The Viking Slayer, Roronoa Zoro."

The murmur around the villagers was one thing, but the look of faint surprise on Zoro's face said much more to the townsfolk. Zoro blinked.

"Viking Slayer? Honestly." Zoro scoffed. "I didn't slay them. Well, not all of them." Men shivered at the calm allowance on the man's face. "After all, they said that they were the strongest warriors in the world. I took it as a challenge." Zoro cocked an eyebrow at the seething Morgan. "Are you going to tell me the same?" Morgan's eyes narrowed.

"I _am_ the strongest warrior in the world!" Zoro sighed and turned fully to him.

"I take that as a challenge, I hope you know." Morgan only nodded at the other vikings, and they formed a sort of circle around him and Zoro. He paused thoughtfully, then grinned nastily.

"I believe I've seen that type of weapon before... Helmeppo!" He snapped, and a scrawny kid standing nearby flinched. "Get the thing!" Helmeppo raced to the ship then came back holding a small parcel, which, at a cue from Morgan, was unwrapped in full view of Zoro.

Zoro went very, very still to see Kuina's sword in the grasp of the young, pale viking. Morgan smirked at his reaction.

"You still want that fight?"

"You..." If the villagers had been terrified of Zoro before, when he had cut through the vikings with ease and seemed almost _bored_ doing it, then the sight of his deadly venomous look as he took in _his_ sword was enough to make them wonder who the real devil was. Zoro practically snarled in rage as he dashed forward at Morgan. Helmeppo hid behind a group of vikings with a squeak, shoving the katana in one of their hands. "Will not touch that which does not belong to you!" He roared as he ducked under Morgan's wild swing and sliced the viking right through his chain of armor.

Morgan's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, but he jumped back and threw off his armor with a growl. "Had you not such impudence, I would have even allowed you to join my clan under my command! Those who oppose me will die!" Another swing, and Zoro ducked as the sand behind him flew up in a from the strike, even at such a distance.

Coby's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "S-Such power..." Everyone, viking and villager alike, had paused to watch the fight between Morgan and Zoro. The two were staring down each other, both weighing the other in their mind.

Then Zoro smirked, and dashed towards Morgan. The viking leader's heavy bulk made it nearly impossible to move quickly, and instantly found himself under a barrage of strikes from the younger warrior. Coby cheered along with the villagers as slices rained down on the viking, the green-haired man never being touched. No one noticed the blonde, scrawny viking sneaking away with the katana.

They certainly noticed when a little girl kicked him in the shin and he gave a shrill cry, not unlike a very non-viking woman. Even the women of their tribes were fierce, something Coby remembered with a shudder as he recalled the viking that had first kidnapped him. _Alvida_. Smashing a barrel over the psycho's head and sneaking away with a small, handmade dinghy had seemed to do the trick. Until it sunk not too far from Shell Village, of course.

Little girl. Viking brat. Kicked in the shin. Of all the eyes that widened, Zoro's seemed to grow to occupy half of his face as he made an odd choking noise.

"_Rika_?" Coby wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the sight of the small girl holding a broom and whacking the viking repeatedly, scolding as she did so.

"Stupid viking! Taking my brother's sword! Sneaking away like a stupid coward! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She punctuated each 'stupid' with another whack to the head. The viking was on the ground with comical tears on his face, but then he ducked away from the blows and whistled.

"Soro! Come!" He yelped. A low, chilling growl then emanated from the ship, and the hair on the back of the villagers' necks raised when a large, black dog _leaped_ onto the beach in front of Helmeppo.

A first glance would say it was a dog. A second glance would say it was a black dog the size of a small calf. A third glance, one directed at the glowing red eyes set above the sharp teeth said so much more.

"The Black Shuck!" A villager wailed. Coby's knees trembled in terror. He'd heard of the Black Shuck, a legendary asset of the vikings. It was a _real_ demon, not like the vikings even with all of their bloodthirsty pillaging and torching and absolute _madness_... This was something to really fear.

And now it directed its hollow gaze directly on Rika. And crouched dangerously, a chilling phantom growl leaking from its bared teeth. It almost seemed to be made of shadows itself, and even Helmeppo was near hysterics as he cackled in triumph, pointing at Rika.

"Soro! Attack her!" A growl, and Soro dashed directly at the small girl. Who cried out even as she swung her broom out...

"_NO_!" Zoro wasn't stupid. He'd dealt with demons before. He knew that few things could fight off a demon, and he knew a _phantom_ demon when he saw it. You couldn't touch those without salt or a good charm. None of which he had on him. And he knew what they did to those their masters pointed at.

So fight forgotten, Zoro ran towards Rika using all the speed he could muster and shoved her out of the way.

And the large dog went right _into _him.

And Zoro let out a yell of agony that sent chills down the spines of everyone present, including one wide-eyed and unharmed Rika.

"_BROTHER_!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zoro jerked forward from his sleep as his eyes shot open, chest heaving. The fire was still blazing in front of him, and the tents were still there. No demon dog. Zoro inwardly cursed himself for letting a silly little thing like a memory get to him. Especially in a dream.

It was only a dream, after all. Even if it had really happened. Usopp and Kaya were chatting by the fire, while Luffy, Usopp, and Kaya's two guards were doing... something with a dagger? Eh, Zoro didn't really care either way. And Nami...

Was staring him in the face. Zoro was proud to say he didn't flinch. At all. This didn't make her sudden appearance any more... unsettling. Nor did it decrease the worried look on her face as she leaned over him.

"Nightmare?" Zoro opened his mouth to say that no, he didn't get silly things like _nightmares_, but then he got a good look at her own countenance. Pale, cold sweat, heart likely racing. She'd had her own dreams.

So he shut his mouth and only gave a firm nod. She gave a shaky smile.

"I know I'm probably not the person to say this... but talking always seemed to help." Nami stated carefully. Zoro snorted and leaned back against the rock he'd propped himself up against when he first decided to sleep.

"Just something that happened a long time ago. A crazy-ass kid that almost got herself killed." Nami shook her head sadly.

"Kids do that. Never thinking of the consequences... What happened to her?"

"..." Zoro looked up as he thought about it. What _had_ happened to Rika? Or her mother? Or even the town...? "... I don't know. I never saw her again."

"Because of the..." Nami made a gesture to him, and Zoro huffed.

"Yeah. Because of that. I'd wager they all died a thousand years ago." He said matter of factly. Nami's eyes widened. She hadn't really thought of living forever, leaving people she cared to age and die while she...

"That's horrible." She breathed. Zoro shrugged.

"It wasn't too bad. I never expected to see them again anyway. My home was gone long before then, and I left my country on the idea that I would never return there again." He yawned. "I said my goodbyes." Nami stared at his complacent attitude at apparently losing everything.

"Why would you leave? What is worth saying goodbye to everyone you ever cared about and claiming yourself some sort of demon?"

"... I didn't call myself anything but my own name." Zoro mused, looking up at the stars. "I only told them that I was Roronoa Zoro, and they decided to add on to it. Like my own name wasn't good enough. Huh." He snorted. "Idiots. I promised I'd make _my_ name reach the heavens, not some title like 'Viking Slayer' or 'Asura'."

"... Viking Slayer? Is that what Kuro was talking about?" Nami asked. Zoro shrugged.

"It was a long time ago. Vikings called themselves the greatest. They challenged me, and I took it. I won. Idiots weren't really worth my time."

"And now here you are, rambling on like some senile old coot." Nami teased, not even flinching when Zoro gave her a half hearted scowl before closing his eyes and attempting to drift off.

"I'm not old. Witch." He growled out. Nami scowled back, also laying back.

"And I'm not a witch. Seaweed head." The vague twitch was quite satisfying to see, even as she slowly drifted to sleep with the thoughts of her own nightmare buzzing in her head.

_Bellemere_...

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Kaya smiled at Usopp, who only looked at her worriedly. Nami, Zoro, Luffy, and the guards packed the last of their camp in the background.

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Usopp asked. Kaya nodded.

"My sickness was from the grief of losing my father. You and your friends have helped me see that I need to move on from the past, and start anew in my country." She took a deep breath, turning to Johnny and Yosaku. "We must be swift. It may take many more days to reach East Blue palace." Luffy stared at her.

"What are you talking about?" Nami smacked the back of his head.

"Don't be rude. You didn't even tell her." Luffy managed to looked sheepish as he rubbed his head.

"Oh, right. Well, Zoro got this great idea last night!" He grinned and pointed to Zoro. "I still have two wishes left, and you guys need to get to East Blue palace really soon, right?" Kaya gaped at what he seemed to be offering.

"I-I couldn't ask you for such a thing, Luffy." She shook her head. "One only has three wishes in an entire lifetime." Luffy shrugged.

"I don't want the wishes though. So you can have one!" The guards sniffled and looked at Zoro in awe.

"So selfless!"

"And humble!" They almost attempted a dance before Zoro snatched them by the back of their clothes, scowling.

"I did it for _me,_ idiots. The sooner I can get his wishes, the better." Johnny and Yosaku still looked at him in wonder, and he sighed, dropping them. Johnny held up a hand as he thought of something.

"Wait, you look for great swordsman, right brother?" He asked. Zoro nodded cautiously. Yosaku grinned.

"Great! We have a world's greatest swordsman in this century! Do you know the name 'Hawkeye Mihawk'?" If Zoro had been eating anything, he would have choked on it. A very sad death for an all powerful genie and master swordsman, but true. As it were, he only choked on air. Luffy patted Zoro on the back until he recovered, and then grabbed Yosaku by the front of his shirt.

"How the hell do you know that name?" He demanded, shaking the poor man. He seemed almost pale, Nami noticed. And twitchy. Definitely twitchy. Johnny held up a hand.

"Oi, oi brother! I-It's just a name! Calm down! He's supposed to be the greatest swordsman in the world!" Zoro dropped Yosaku, staggering back.

"I know that!" He snarled. "He's..." He trailed off and shook his head. "Never mind. It's impossible. Huh." He sighed and brushed sand off his vest. "Just make the wish, Luffy."

"Shishsishi! Yep! Okay, I wish Kaya, Johnny, and Yosaku were at the East Blue palace!" Zoro didn't wave his hand or give any magic words, but in the next instant the three were _gone_, camel along with them. Luffy blinked. "Oh, I almost forgot the camel. Thanks!"

"Hn." Zoro only grumbled and jumped on his horse. As the four began to ride off, Nami noticed how he still seemed shaken from whatever Yosaku had said.

How did Zoro know Hawkeye Mihawk?

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Shanks was casually strolling through the palace gardens with Ace, both somber.

"... He'll be fine, Ace." Ace snorted.

"I'll believe it when he comes back. How long was Gramps out to sea?"

"Almost thirty years."

"EH?" Ace stopped and stared at Shanks incredulously. "And you let him go knowing he might be longer?" Shanks blinked and shrugged.

"I thought you knew?" He offered sheepishly. Ace slapped himself in the forehead.

"Where Gramps found a guy like you, I'll never know..." Ace grumbled to himself, storming back in the direction in the palace. Shanks only grinned to himself.

"Where indeed." He was about to walk after the boy but was cut off by a voice.

"Merri!" Well, Shanks would be damned if he didn't know that voice. Unexpected, but okay. He walked around the corner and paused.

"... How'd you get the camel in the pond?" Shanks asked casually, taking in the odd scene as two masked guards struggled to get Kaya's camel out. Kaya turned his way with a start.

"Shanks!" She cried, running and throwing herself at the man. Shanks caught her in a hug, noting with alarm how her shoulders were shaking.

"Easy, easy, what happened? Where's your father?" He demanded. The question only brought forth a sob, and he held her tighter with a grim expression.

"Let's go see the sultan."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"... Is that so..." Garp mused to himself, watching the girl nod with tears still streaming down. She took a deep breath as Shanks asked

"Did he follow you?" Kaya nodded, but offered a smile.

"He did, and he almost caught us, too. But then we ran into Luffy." She started.

"What? Luffy?" Ace demanded, coming into the throne room himself. He then bowed sheepishly. "Um, nice to see you again, by the way." Kaya nodded back, then turned back to Garp.

"The man turned out to be some sort of demon, and when the full moon rose..." She trailed off, eyes almost haunted. Shanks sighed.

"A werecat, right? Something that takes on the form of a cat under the full moon." He explained at her confused look. "And Luffy..."

"Fought him off along with his friends." She nodded. "They were so brave, even after..."

"What?" Shanks asked kindly, and she shook her head.

"Nothing. It was already sorted out. But I was surprised, I'll admit. How did a prince find a genie?" There was a silence for about two heartbeats, and then a chorus of

"Whaaat?" Garp burst into laughter while Shanks wasn't sure where to look. Ace...

"Of all the crazy things to do, he found a _genie_?" He demanded, positively ablaze. "I bet the first thing he wished for was meat!" Kaya shook her head.

"He only wished for two things. To save Usopp, and to send me here." She stated. Ace rocked back on his heels.

"Huh. Weird." Kaya giggled a bit as she thought of something.

"It's strange, but the genie seemed so eager for him to use his wishes immediately. And Luffy _refused_ to do so." She giggled again. "Poor Zoro."

Shanks stiffened, and forced himself not to attempt to shake the young woman. Although his silence seemed to catch her attention enough, and he cleared his throat shakily.

"W-What... did you say?" He asked carefully. Kaya blinked.

"The genie's name was Roronoa Zoro. I didn't even know he was a genie at first," Kaya admitted. "He was traveling with the group like normal. Luffy seemed to have wanted to keep the man in his company as a friend rather than a genie, and didn't ask for anything from the man..." Shanks didn't wait around to hear the rest, and all but flew out the door.

"Shanks? Shanks!" Garp called after his retreating figure. He leaned back, puzzled.

"What's with him?" Ace asked, staring after the Grand Vizier worriedly. Kaya blinked.

"Was it something I said?"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Oh Kaya, how little you know... XD I started writing this the second I got your review, Tamari. It just took me longer because I'm actually going to school _every day_. How do you people live like this?

Second wish granted! I was thinking so hard when I was first writing this chapter because it was crucial to my plot that Luffy would get his second wish in this arc, because WHAT WOULD LUFFY WISH FOR AND- *slap forehead* Duh. Kaya and co. need a way home. Insert bang head on wall.

I went overboard with the whole flashback things, yes. But Kuro's gone, and this arc is OVER! :D Yay. This story is almost half way over. Oo;; What a terrifying thought.

And I think I explained the Black Shuck to _someone_, but I forgot who. TT Here's a bit of copy and paste from a Norfolk myth website to clear things up:

**An Old Norfolk Saying... "And a dreadful thing from the cliff did spring, And its wild bark thrill'd around, His eyes had the glow of the fires below, Twas the form of the Spectre Hound"  
There are so many myths, tales, legends and sightings of this fearsome apparition that it is hard to know where to begin. Black Shuck is said to be one of the oldest phantoms of Great Britain, with the name deriving from the Anglo-Saxon word 'scucca' meaning demon or devil.**

**Other historians say that the hound has its origins in Norse mythology based on the huge dog of war of Odin and Thor 'Shukir' who came over to Britain thousands of years ago along with the Vikings long-ships.  
Local legend tells of a huge hound, the size of a small calf with blazing eyes, who regularly prowls the coastal path between Sheringham and Overstrand.  
Unsuspecting night walkers will first become aware of the pad pad sound of the hounds heavy paws.**

**Out of the corner of their eye they may see a gathering darkness, which slowly forms into the outline of a huge hound.  
Lurking in the night shadows the beast is said to track the steps of its victim, drawing ever closer.**

**Anyone unfortunate enough to turn around and meet its fiery gaze is said to die within a twelve month period.**

I tweaked it a bit on the last point, obviously. But I went searching for _hours _on finding a suitable demon dog for Soro. Then I found this. IT WAS SO PERFECT YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

Because was I the only one who looked at Morgan, a raging hulk of a guy with an axe for an arm and his constant yells of 'ALL WHO OPPOSE ME WILL DIE', and immediately think primitive medieval warrior? Alvida too. *gigglesnort* Vikings, ha. I crack myself up. xDDD

Special thanks to eternitybeckons, bookishangel, Son of Whitebeard, Tamari, and cb for your lovely reviews! YOU GUYS ALL OWE TAMARI A COOKIE, BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE SERIOUSLY FORGOTTEN THIS STORY EXISTED WITHOUT THIS AWESOME PERSON.

… I'd like a cookie too? :D


	12. Chef

Weeellll... short chapter? :D Ah, I'm just trying to get them out a bit faster than I have been this past couple of weeks. Summer school and all. And it just seemed like a good place to end it...

SANJI. If there are some parts that seemed skipped... it's because they happened exactly according to canon, and this fic was made on the assumption that you guys know what happened in East Blue. I remember when I made this AU fic in the Danny Phantom section about one of the episodes, and some of the reviewers thought it was _canon_, even if some of the changes were drastic... *sweat drop* Anyway.

I know Sanji never really got much screen time in East Blue... so I'll try and balance it out. I do like Sanji, really! I also happen to like Zoro too! … Well, I like Zoro _more_ than Sanji, but I still like Sanji. So I'll try to add him in with as at least enough screen time to satisfy you Sanji fans.

Sooo... I don't own One Piece? :D

Ha, the quote is actually from Aladdin 2: Return of Jafar. Did you notice how _all_ the quotes are from Aladdin? O_o

Scary.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"**Make room for the picnic boys!"**

**~Genie**

"NAAAMI!" Nami whirled at the alarmed tone in Luffy's voice, jerking Eyelashes to a halt.

"What?" She demanded. Luffy pointed to the boy sitting behind him, a horrified look on his face.

"Usopp's head is bleeding! _Again_!" Nami carefully felt her pounding heart, annoyed that he'd nearly given her a heart attack even as she sighed in relief.

"It's a head wound, Luffy." She explained carefully. "They bleed for a long time. I guess we'll need to change the bandages soon, right Usopp?" Usopp moaned dramatically.

"Precious life spilling out of my head... Can't take too much more..." Nami rolled her eyes.

"On second thought, he'll be just fine."

"Hey!" Usopp yelped. Nami glared and he backed down.

"Honestly! You're heading for the seas, aren't you?" Luffy nodded.

"My Gramps said life on the seas was the best! Full of adventure, and monsters of all kinds..."

"And a hell of a lot of water, baka." Luffy blinked and turned to Zoro, who scowled at him. "You can't swim, remember?" Nami gave a start.

"You can't swim? I thought East Blue was famous for it's water!" Luffy scratched the back of his head sheepishly as Zoro shrugged.

"Devil fruits turn even the strongest swimmers into hammers. Submerge them in nothing more than a small pond and they'll drown." Nami slapped her forehead.

"And they're going to an _ocean_. The largest body of water in the world." Luffy grinned.

"Actually, I never learned to swim even before! Shanks would always have to save me when I fell off the wall of the palace..."

"And you're still going to the ocean?" Nami demanded. Luffy blinked.

"Of course! I can't see the world from a horse, after all! But I guess we need a ship..."

"And a crew! You'll need a navigator, a doctor, a chef..." Nami ticked off the positions on her fingers, looking almost concerned. "You can't just sail around with no food or water or direction and hope for the best!" Zoro cleared his throat.

"Why not? I did it for years."

"..." Nami began to twitch, staring at Zoro incredulously. Luffy then slammed a fist in his palm.

"I've got it! I can be the captain then, and _you_ can be the navigator!" Luffy exclaimed, pointing to the startled Nami. "We can find a chef later, and Usopp can be the doctor! Zoro can be the swordsman!"

"Who said I was going with you?" Zoro and Nami chorused, even as Usopp wilted.

"I don't know anything about doctors, Luffy..."

"Oh. Well, that's okay! You can... ummm... Nami, what do you call the person that shoots cannons?"

"A sharpshooter." Nami replied, but then shook her head. "And I'm _not_ going to be your navigator! I've never tried steering anything before!"

"But you're a mapmaker, right?"

"There's a difference between mapmaker and navigator!"

"They both know where they're going though." Luffy nodded to himself at his logic. "So you'll be the greatest navigator ever!" Nami gaped.

"I never even said I'd go with you!" Luffy blinked.

"Why not? We're nakama, aren't we?" Nami scowled.

"_No_ Luffy, I'm just your guide until you get wherever the hell you're going! I'm not helping you get a ship, I'm not going to be your navigator, and I'm sure as hell not going on any boat with you _or_ your homicidal genie!" Zoro scowled.

"Who said _I_ was going then?" He demanded. Luffy blinked.

"You said you needed to come."

"I only have one more wish to grant!"

"And I don't have any more wishes. So you'll have to come with us!" Zoro scowled heavily and yanked his horse to a stop.

"That's it!" Zoro growled out, hopping off his horse. He reached into his haramaki and pulled out the lamp, storming up to Luffy and shoving it in his hand. "I've had it! I'm going in my damned lamp and _staying_ there until you make your wish!" He stood there and glared for a second, Usopp and Nami watching as his face stayed in a fierce scowl for all of five seconds before morphing into bewilderment.

Then, anger, with some panic. "The hell?" Zoro stared at the lamp like it had turned purple. "I can't go back in!" Usopp shook his head sadly.

"Well, obviously you're far too big to get in it! You need to shrink down, don't you?" He was silenced by Zoro's harsh glare.

"I know that! I can't even fly, damn it all!" He stomped around, swearing in some odd language that Luffy seemed to find amusing. Luffy grinned suddenly, pointing at Zoro.

"Hey! Shanks said that when Ace beat up this one prince we had visiting! He looked mad about it too!" Nami and Usopp slapped their foreheads.

"OI." Zoro stormed towards his horse, then whirled and stormed back, glaring at the lamp in Luffy's hand. Experimentally, he raised a hand up...

Huh. Fire was still working. So why couldn't he...? Zoro tried again to shrink into the lamp, a practiced move after so many years of masters...

"_SHIT_!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Fullbody raised a hand for the group to pause as he took in the scene before him. He almost blamed the sight on the desert heat before he caught the looks on his group's faces.

Apparently they saw the four too. One black haired boy with an odd hat clapping with delight on top of his horse, another dark haired boy (with an odd long nose) sitting and trembling behind him. An orange-haired girl sitting on a camel and watching the same scene with an exasperated look on her face.

And one raging, swearing green-haired man that was cursing in a language Fullbody had never heard before.

And literally spitting _flames_ and shooting out sparks whenever he waved his hands in exasperation. Not to mention when the group whirled to see Fullbody, his eyes were a solid, glowing green color on a face that promised a world of pain if they pissed him off. Even when the green faded to a flat gray that seemed to be his natural eye color and his face smoothed into a much more mild scowl, it did _not_ make _anyone_ feel any safer.

"The hell do you want?" Fullbody almost winced, but was reminded of the reason he had traveled so far out into the desert into the first place by the blonde head leaning on his shoulder.

He was here to impress a date.

"Well, _sir_," Fullbody sneered to the best of his abilities while trying to avoid sweating. "We were just heading to the famous restaurant, Baratie, when you decided to be in our way." He waved a hand over the group behind him, who seemed to follow their leader's example and show bravery in the face of the narrow-eyed swordsman. The orange-haired girl stared at him.

"... You're bandits." She stated flatly. Not at all with the fear Fullbody might have wished or expected. The one with the odd hat blinked and tilted his head at them.

"There's a restaurant out here?" He asked, suddenly intrigued. Fullbody felt his pride wilt under the fact that they didn't seem to care, _at all_, that he was an infamous bandit. He was Fullbody, leader of the Iron Fist bandits, damn it all!

And these brats were shaming him in front of his most recent girl. Who was _giggling_ at the boy in the hat.

So he did the most natural thing any self-respecting bandit would do when presented with such a situation. He yelled.

"You think you're being _funny_, punk?" He demanded. The boy looked at him oddly.

"Not really. Do you?" The girl behind him giggled again. He only stuck out his tongue. "Well, I don't think I'm being funny. I just asked a question. So where's the restaurant?" He asked, eager.

Fullbody felt his temper rise before he forced it down, adopting a fake smile. "My apologies. I thought you were saying something _rude_, but it's my mistake-"

"Nah, it's okay. Just tell me where the restaurant is!" Fullbody's eye twitched.

"Just... go north a few more miles and it's there!" He gritted out through clenched teeth. The group seemed oblivious to him as the boy gave a cheer and sped away, leaving the two behind to sputter and curse.

"DAMN IT LUFFY!" They chorused, both speeding after the boy. Fullbody only grinned deviously.

And then he gave a signal and continued west.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"Nami! I think that guy was lying to us!" Nami eyed the boy sitting on the ground, looking rather like a porcupine. Heading north, Nami and Zoro had found Luffy in the midst of a rather large cactus patch.

How he had ended up in the middle of it, the world may never know. But it soon became Usopp's task to help remove the tiny spines that were all over the poor rubber man's back. Nami sighed.

"I could have told you that." Luffy looked up, hurt.

"Why did you let me run into the cactus then?" He demanded. Nami slapped her forehead.

"Because you _ran off_ before anyone could say anything! I even marked this spot on my map years ago!" Nami held out said map, pointing to a small green mark made in the middle of desert brown. She could even remember finding out the patch had been here.

The hard way. "And I think I've figured out where that guy was going." Nami pointed to another spot on the map, surrounded by nothing but desert. "There's supposed to be some sort of restaurant here called the Baratie, one in the middle of nowhere. But it has a bunch of exotic food and drink and is really fancy, so people flock from all over the country to see it. I've never been there myself, but..." Luffy grinned and stood as Usopp finished.

"We can find a good chef there, right?" He asked. "And we can eat really good food, too!" Usopp sighed and stood, brushing sand off his vest.

"It would be nice to have a chef for our ship." He admitted. "When we get a ship, of course. What do you think, Zoro?"

"... Exotic drinks?" Zoro concentrated on Nami. "Does that mean they have sake?"

"... I think a chef will be great, Luffy." Usopp turned back to him. He looked at Nami. "How do we get there?" Nami checked the map and a compass, then pointed in one direction.

"We're actually really close. We should get there within a few hours, if we're lucky." Zoro scoffed.

"I'm never lucky." Luffy grinned and hopped on the horse, dragging Usopp with him.

"Then we just need to run! We'll make it in no time!" With that he slapped the horse, making the poor thing dash off again. Zoro's cuffs began sparking and he snarled under his breath before racing after them.

"Damn it!" Nami only sighed and followed.

"Those poor animals ought to drop dead by now." Eyelashes seemed to nod in agreement.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Fullbody snickered as he recounted _exactly_ what was north of the group to the girl behind him. She'd seemed amused, if not exasperated. He had to make things up at the restaurant, he knew, but it was a start.

And if this girl didn't work, he could always find another. But all thoughts cleared from his mind as he saw the odd building looming in the distance, the shape...

Well, he didn't come here for the decoration. Odd ship design or not, this was still the most famous and respected restaurant in the entire country, and he was here for what was supposed to be the most amazing food. He made his way to go in...

… A yell, and his men gave a cry of alarm as a blur on a horse sped towards Fullbody, shouting words that sounded suspiciously like cries for food. Fullbody felt his brow twitch as he recognized the brat from earlier racing towards the restaurant. Judging by the way he was speeding, he probably didn't even notice Fullbody in his way to the Baratie, which was counted as yet another blow to his reputation.

So Fullbody gave a nod to one of the bandits at the end nearest the oncoming horse, and smirked in satisfaction as the man seemed to understand and threw a small, handmade bomb at the feet of the horse. The horse skidded to an impressive stop, while its rider...

Fullbody was fairly satisfied to see the boy fly right through the wall of the restaurant, recalling the stories of the chef's short tempers.

Besides, the eating part was on the _first_ floor, not the second.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zeff glared down at the kid that had – quite literally – fallen into his lap. Or rather, exploded right through the roof and slammed the older man into the wall, the both of them sinking to the ground with a moan before two of the other chefs had burst in, demanding to know what the explosion was.

Now the boy was standing in front of him... picking his nose? Temper already frayed by the _hole in his bedroom wall_, Zeff nearly _strangled_ him.

"What the hell were you thinking, boy?" He demanded, just short of yelling. The boy shrugged.

"I dunno." He muttered. "The horse wasn't _supposed_ to stop like that." Zeff twitched.

"Horses aren't supposed to go fast enough to be able to send their riders into a wall!" He exclaimed. "You need to pay for that!" The boy blinked.

"I can't. I promised Nami I wouldn't touch her money!" Zeff's eyes narrowed as he looked over him. The boy was scrawny, although his clothes were a little too well made for a simple peasant, but there was also... Zeff tapped his wooden leg against a suspicious bulge in the kid's pocket.

"What's that then?" The kid's eyes were suddenly wider than usual, and his jaw dropped.

"AAAAGH! I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE YOU LOSE YOUR LEG!" He cried. Zeff's patience seemed to boil over, and he slammed the kid into the floor.

"YOU DAMNED IDIOT, YOU DIDN'T DO THAT!" He roared, noting how an object clattered out of the boy's pocket and onto the floor. He picked it up suspiciously, looking it over. "... A lamp?" The kid's eyes widened.

"Be careful with that! It's Zoro's!" He yelped, snatching it back and looking it over carefully. "... How was I carrying it in the first place?" He wondered to himself. Zeff rolled his eyes.

"Itchy fingers." He replied sourly, not noticing how the boy looked at him in pure confusion. "You need to pay for the damages on my wall! What's your name?" The boy grinned.

"Oh! My name's Luffy-" He suddenly slapped a hand over his mouth, shaking his head. "... Luffy." Zeff shook his head.

"Well then, _Luffy_, if you can't pay, you'll need to work off your debt!" Luffy nodded.

"I'll work to pay off my debt!"

"And you'll be working as a chore boy for one year!"

"Gotcha. And I'll be working as a chore boy for... **WHAT**?"

On the other hand, Zeff thought to himself, maybe hiring random idiots for more help _wasn't_ the brightest idea.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zoro was quite pleased to find that his cuffs stopped sparking the moment he entered the restaurant. This benefited in the way that: one; it stopped hurting. And two; he was pretty sure he saw some familiar writing on one of the bottles the waiter was handing out. Sake was something he'd been hard pressed to find anywhere, and he took as much of it whenever he could.

Although, Zoro mused to himself, the odd waiter seemed busy at the moment with a familiar customer.

"I told you, I'm _not_ a waiter, I'm a _chef_." The man insisted as he walked up to them, and Zoro had to give him respect for the way he seemed to hold back his temper. And then all respect flew out the window when the chef suddenly flew to the man's date. Zoro couldn't see any more of the man than his back, but from the way he seemed to almost melt...

It looked like he wouldn't be getting his sake soon. Damn. Zoro turned back to his empty table with a scowl, but then immediately turned back when a table broke in half.

"_Do you realize who I am_?" The bandit demanded. The chef only stared down at the broken bowl in front of him. Zoro watched carefully, eager to see if any fighting might come his way. Instead the chef only heaved a sigh and bent, picking at the pieces gently.

"A bug. It could have been removed, and the food would not have been wasted..." Zoro could understand. He'd been hungry many times in the middle of the ocean, and he any food he got he ate to the last crumb, never knowing when his last meal was...

"I AM A GUEST PAYING TO EAT HERE! HOW DARE YOU MAKE FUN OF ME?" Ah, that was it. The bandit was probably still sore over their little group not acknowledging him being any sort of threat. As if he was. The bandit's date stood and yelled for him to calm down...

Huh. And who said dinner didn't come with entertainment? Zoro leaned back in pleased surprise as the group watched the chef beat the bandit within an inch of his life, never even using his hands. The chef dangled the man by the throat in front of him, still facing away from them.

"Whoever messes with a chef in the middle of the desert..." The man began, tense. "That person has commited suicide. Remember this!" He growled, shaking the man once more for good measure. "Food is not something to be wasted!" Then a large man came out from the back of the restaurant and gaped at the man.

"**SANJI!**" The chef didn't so much as flinch, even as the burly man strode up in a threatening manner. "A CUSTOMER! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO A CUSTOMER! AND ISN'T HE ONE OF THOSE BIGSHOT BANDITS?" Sanji calmly tilted his head towards the man.

"Patty." He stated almost distastefully. "Don't yell at me like that, shitty chef." Patty fumed.

"If anyone has a right to be called that, it's you!" He yelled, enraged. "A restaurant thrives with customers alone! And here you are, always kicking their ass!" Sanji let the man fall to the floor.

"He insulted me and my food. I was only taking my due." Fullbody was practically in tears on the ground, even as he was a bloody mess. Worst. Date. Ever.

"Y-You're all insane!" He cried, pointing at the three. "What kind of restaurant is this? I'll have this place burned to the ground!" He instantly regretted his words when the chef suddenly loomed over him.

"In that case, I can't let you leave here alive." Zoro almost laughed aloud at the look on the bandit's face when the other chefs ganged up on Sanji, pulling him back even as he never stopped swearing up a storm.

"Stop him!"

"He'll kill another one!"

"Let me go! I can't stand idiots like him!"

"Sanji, don't do this!"

**CRASH!**

And if Zoro wasn't entertained enough, the sight of his current master being pummeled through the ceiling by a man with a peg leg was the icing on the cake.

"NOW LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! THERE'S A HOLE IN MY CEILING TOO!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE THAT KICKED ME THROUGH!" When the bandit began _crying_, it was all Zoro could do to not roll around like an idiot in laughter.

He hadn't had this much entertainment in _forever_, and he'd certainly been alive long enough to know it.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Sanji swore under his breath as he rubbed his chin. Damn it all, if he hadn't gotten stronger over the past too-many years he was a duck. But it didn't mean that the old shit geezer's kicks were any less painful.

Not that he'd ever _admit_ it to said geezer. That would be just wrong. What was certainly interesting was that he was still alive and... well, kicking just as strongly as ever even after being pelted by a flying kid.

Said kid didn't even look too injured. Huh. Briefly, Sanji wondered if Zeff was getting a little soft. But this was dashed away when the man kicked the kid into a nearby table, smashing it to bits.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU'LL ONLY WORK ONE WEEK?" Sanji almost winced. Almost. Kid had guts, that was for sure. Apparently Zeff was attempting to get more hired help, even as the kid only stood and brushed off his hat.

"I need to get out of here before next year! I can't stay any longer!" He stated firmly. The three that had been at the table suddenly stood and slapped him on the back of his head.

"LUFFY YOU IDIOT!" They chorused, knocking him down to the ground again. The kid's inhuman tolerance for beatings was something that even Sanji had to respect. Zeff scowled and grabbed the kid back.

"You'll work here until I say your debt is repaid! Now get in the kitchen!" He yelled, throwing the boy in front of the kitchen doors. Luffy made a face, but slunk away into the kitchen. Sanji sighed as he watched the bandit from earlier crawl out the door. He doubted he'd go through with his bluff, but...

It couldn't hurt to check. Sanji was about to walk out the door when the man was suddenly tossed back through the doors, unconscious, with another man trudging in after him. Sanji silently swore under his breath.

_Shit_. The guy looked like he had been through hell and back, and without any food or water. Sanji watched his careful walk to a chair, obviously hiding any weakness. Most likely someone who had traveled the desert without proper supplies, and was probably desperate-

"Do you take steel?" The man hissed, drawing a blade to Patty's throat, voice cracked from dehydration. Sanji didn't even flinch when he was pummeled by the man, though he did file away some ideas of _exactly_ what he was going to use as his next punching bag.

"If you don't have any money, then you're not a customer!" Patty roared, kicking the man in his stomach.

Most likely Patty's head.

"Dammit Patty, you broke my chair!" … And Sanji wouldn't see if he couldn't find some form of revenge against the old geezer, too.

But for now, he had something to do.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"Ha! You're pretty cool!" Sanji eyed the boy watching above him, the old apron still tied on him. Probably wasn't supposed to be out here, watching him. Watching him feed the poor, hungry man that was looking up at him with nothing but sincere gratitude.

"Thank you," The man said, wiping leftovers off his face. "My name is Gin, and I'm a bandit. One from the Krieg bandits. If there's anything you ever need..." Sanji waved a hand.

"It's fine. You were hungry, and I'm a chef. I can't let people go hungry." He scooped up the plate as he spoke, not noticing the monkey-faced idiot sneak up behind him...

"You need to come and be my ship's cook!" He demanded, nearly throwing Sanji off balance. He twitched. Who did this guy think he was? Sanji forced himself to calm down. He was probably just some kid, not even old enough to... Eh?

"Did you say ship?" Sanji asked, intrigued. Not many from this country wanted to go to the seas, nowadays, and he hadn't been on a ship since... forever. The kid nodded.

"Yeah! I'm running away to the sea! I'm going to have a big adventure on a ship of my own... but Nami said I need a crew. And I need a chef still!" He grinned at Sanji. "So you can be our chef!" Sanji sighed, no one really talked of adventure these days, let alone to him...

"Sorry kid, but... I can't leave this place." He stated, turning back towards the restaurant.

"No! I refuse!" That made Sanji stop in his tracks and stare back at the kid. What...?

"What, exactly, are you refusing?"

"I refuse your refusal!" What. The. Hell. Sanji felt his brow begin to twitch.

"Look kid, I don't even _know_ you, so what makes you think I'd jump on a ship with you?" He demanded. The boy blinked and held out a hand.

"Oh! Well then, my name's Luffy! Who are you?" Sanji almost palmed his forehead. Almost. Instead he shook Luffy's hand.

"Sanji. I'm the second head chef around here. Why did you go through the wall, anyway?" Luffy shrugged.

"That guy shot something at my horse, and it kicked me through the wall." He explained casually, not noticing the two sweat drop at the odd statement. Gin stared.

"... Through the wall?"

"Yep."

"Are you a bandit then?" Gin asked carefully.

"Nah, but Usopp used to be! But we're gonna be sailors soon, so it's okay." Gin gave a start at the name, making Sanji look at him oddly.

"Who?"

"You haven't heard?" Gin asked incredulously. "Usopp's the leader of the Vegetable Bandits, a big name that's been floating around East Blue for some time now. He supposedly murdered the crown prince himself!" Sanji shrugged. He wasn't a native to the country, and news on their own politics and crap never really interested him...

"He didn't kill anyone!" Luffy yelled, glaring at Gin. "Why does everyone keep saying that? Sheesh!" Gin eyed him curiously.

"As far as I know, people don't consider someone dead unless they can't find them. Where is the prince then?" Luffy opened his mouth, but then closed it stubbornly.

He knows something, Sanji realized. And he isn't going to share with us any time soon.

"So why won't you come with us?" Sanji rolled his eyes.

"I told you, if you'd just _listen_-"

"Then tell me!"

"... I don't feel like telling you."

"You just told me to listen!"

"I told you to listen the first time, dumbass!"

"I ought to kick your ass!"

"Excuse me-"

"WHAT?" The two demanded, both rounding on Gin. Gin sighed and held up his hands.

"Look kid, what do you know about this Usopp?" Luffy brightened considerably.

"Well, he's my best friend! And he can throw rocks at clowns from far away, and he's the fastest runner I've ever-"

"And what do you know about the crown prince?" Luffy's face screwed up in something that almost looked like hysterics, but kept silent. Gin took it as a 'nothing'. "If your little buddy broke out of the _dungeon_ because they arrested him for murdering the crown prince, then he's most likely guilty. And devious as hell, I can't think of any way to-"

"Oh, _I_ broke him out!" There was a silence for all of two heart beats, and the two stared at Luffy incredulously, who only stared back. "... What?"

"... _You_ broke him out?" Sanji demanded, staring at him. As if anyone like _that_ could pull off anything like-

"Well, I had help." He admitted, fixing his hat. "Zoro held the rope!"

… And hell froze over, apparently. Sanji may have not known the kid for even half an hour, but with that retarded grin and utterly blatant honesty there was _no way_ he could have done such a thing-

Or have made such a thing up.

"Chore boy! Get back inside!" Luffy jumped as Zeff grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, choking him. Zeff eyed Sanji below. "And Sanji! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Gin flinched, looking down.

"Sorry Sanji... I got you in trouble-"

**Crack!** Gin stared incredulously at where Sanji had nonchalantly dropped the plate in the sand below, then kicked some dirt of top of it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sanji replied, walking back towards Zeff. Zeff eyed Gin for a moment then turned back inside, dragging the rather bluish Luffy behind him. Sanji sighed, leaning his head to the side oddly.

"There's this shitty old horse that came in with that bandit you got earlier. If we can't find anything to do with it, it'll most likely be traded to the next merchant that comes in." He stated, not looking at Gin. "Hate to see the poor thing get stolen by bandits, after all." With that said, he strolled right into the restaurant, not looking back.

Tears weren't the manliest thing for a bandit like Gin, but he figured it was a rare exception.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Yeah, I know I skipped some parts. But it seemed kind of stupid to retype what everyone knows happened, especially when it's not that important to the plot or to my twists. *shrug*

I love Gin. I really was sad to see him sail off with Oda-sensei's hinting (slamming facts against heads) that he died. But I never give up hoping that he magically reappears some day! xD

Anyway, I've been looking forward to this arc for a while now. This is the foot of the climax, peoplez! The stuff you learn in grade school English about story writing, what with the building up and the ultimate excitement AND THEN THE HUGE TWISTS.

The best part about writing this AU? Well, you guys should realize that while I got the idea from reading ZeldaAddict42's fic (which follows canon almost perfectly except in another setting) and watching Aladdin (first arc :P), this is somewhat... different. And not just because I've mixed up the world. I'm not going with One Piece _or_ Aladdin canon. Not completely. So the best part about writing Arabian Nights?

The best part about writing this AU is that you guys _think_ you know what's going to happen.

Special thanks to Mayo2198, eternitybeckons, kallakkala, Neko11, Tamari, ZororonoaRo, and cb for your amazing reviews~!

Please let me know how you reacted to this chapter, good and bad, so I can improve!


	13. Dreams

… This story has eaten my soul. ;O;

Sorry about the delay! I was just finishing up summer school (over yay) and then we had to go out of town soon, so I'm finishing this as everyone is getting ready! Go me. Hur hur... :O

There seems to be some confusion over the definition of 'short chapter'. I apologize. It's just that my very, very, very favorite stories have at _least_ ten thousand words per chapter, and anything shorter than that seems short to me. Granted, I do know what you guys are saying. I used to be from a category where _two_ thousand words was jaw dropping, and I myself was happy to update with a little over a thousand words on a monthly basis. LOL

So many reviews~! I have to say, my inner priority for stories has just placed this story on top! I'm still writing Horizons, but this has now become my number one~! THANKS TO YOU GUYS.

I don't own One Piece or Aladdin. BAM.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**"Let's get real here, that's never gonna happen. Genie, wake up and smell the hummus."**

**~Genie  
**

"Okay everyone! My name is Luffy, and I'm going to be working here!" Luffy announced, standing in front of the line of chefs. One of the chefs rolled his eyes.

"You told us that before! Now get to washing dishes!" Luffy made an odd salute and proceeded to do so. The chef sighed and turned back.

"Sanji's gone off to the customers again..." Another rolled his eyes.

"Of course. I heard he wants to be the head chef in Zeff's place. That's why he hates him-"

**Crack!**

"JUST HOW MANY DISHES HAVE YOU BROKEN?"

"... I forgot to count, sorry."

"DON'T ACT SO HAPPY ABOUT IT! Just go clean somewhere else!"

"Oh, okay..."

"DON'T EAT THE FOOD!"

"Well then- AHHH! IT BURNS!"

"YOU DUMBASS!" Patty reached over and snatched Luffy up, glaring him down.

"If you can't do anything in the kitchen, why don't you go and take orders from people? It's simple: you ask them what they want, and then you tell us! You can handle that, right?" Luffy grinned.

"Of course!" Patty only sighed, releasing him.

"Just remember how to treat them!" Luffy nodded and walked out. He knew how servants used to treat him in the palace, right? How hard could it be?

Then he caught sight of the table that needed to be served.

"YOU!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Sanji poured the wine into the glass, casually giving the customer a nod. It seemed that things were settled down now, what with only the usual, pompous customers that they got around this time. No bandits, no signs of trouble...

"_YOU_!"

… Although it sounded like the 'hired help' wasn't faring so well...

"Hey, I heard you had to work here for a whole year!"

"Not so great to be on this side of the whole servant gig, eh?"

"Tch. Like you can serve other people..." Sanji held back a grimace. Bandits, most likely. What else would gather such weird people all in one group? Not to mention the green-haired man's weapons, and the way Luffy was...

Having water shoved down his throat?

"You can drink that yourself!" Gagging, Luffy rolled around on the floor.

"That's disgusting!"

"You idiot! It was meant for yourself! I'm not immune to poisons, damn it all!" The other two were shaking with laughter, both the long-nosed kid and...

… _Hello_.

"Ah, love! What a flower of beauty you have brought me this day~!" Sanji immediately danced in front of the orange-haired beauty, almost floating with odd, heart-shaped eyes. The three boys watched in utter confusion. Sanji then threw his arm in front of his face. "Were there not so many obstacles, I would race across the searing desert for you~!"

"Am I one of those obstacles then?" Sanji's face blanked out into a grimace as Zeff walked up, peg leg tapping on the wooden floor.

"Uh..."

"Feh, whatever. I see this as a good opportunity to get rid of you! Go off with them, we don't need you!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"... So, you're saying they saved your life..." Gin nodded, eyes darting around the cave he was standing in.

"Yes, but I had no idea... You were found?" The figure sitting in front of him grimaced.

"Caught." Gin shook his head slowly.

"I had no idea he'd be this... brutal. I never would have gotten lost if I had known he'd-" Gin cut himself of, frowning. He looked up at the man with determined eyes.

"Krieg, I think I'll take you to the Baratie."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"...?" Sanji stared at the man in front of him as though unable to comprehend his words. "... You don't need me?" Sanji reached out and snatched him by the collar. "What the hell are you saying, shitty geezer? I'm the second head chef around here! My food is-"

"Is nothing compared to mine!" Zeff cut him off. "You're violent towards the customers, you flirt with any girl under eighty, and not to mention that your cooking is driving away customers!" Zeff's eyes narrowed. "And you are not to grab my collar like that!" A wooden leg whizzed through the air and slammed Sanji into the table behind him. Sanji sat up, glaring.

"The hell? What makes your food any better than mine? I'm staying here until you die!" Zeff scoffed, walking away.

"I won't die for a hundred years, brat. You think that you'd be honored to be chosen by that kid, idiot." Zeff walked away, leaving Sanji in mild confusion. Luffy suddenly perked up from where he was sitting.

"Hey, that's great! You've got permission, so you can come with us!"

"WHO THE HELL WANTS TO?" Sanji then whirled to the girl, bowing. "I am so sorry madam, I will be back with a buffet fit for a lovely queen such as yourself!" Luffy crouched behind Zoro until he left, then let out a breath and sat near Usopp.

"Wow! That guy's scary. But he'll be a great chef!" Nami sighed.

"I can't believe you're stuck working here! Why didn't you just tell them who you were? I'm sure you could have gotten out of it!" Luffy shrugged, setting his feet on the table.

"That's boring. Besides, Shanks says I always gotta pay off debt! Even when me and Usopp would steal from the market, Shanks would help me send the payment to the guys selling stuff. Well, I'd send it, and Shanks would pay me, but..." Nami shook her head.

"You are, _so weird_. Is everyone in your family like you? I fear for East Blue."

"My looooove~! Your dinner is here~!" Sanji had a full meal in front of the delighted Nami in an instant, pouring wine at the same time. Usopp scowled, slamming his hands on the table.

"Oi! What about us, eh Mr. Gallant Chef?" Sanji turned and scowled back.

"Your food is still cooking." Usopp trembled, still putting on a brave face.

"Eh? You want a fight? Zoro! Kill him!"

"Do it yourself, great Usopp-sama." Sanji eyed Usopp at the name. This was the fearsome bandit that murdered the crown prince? Said infamous bandit was attempting to glare while hiding his trembling knees, much to the apparent amusement of the green-haired man.

… If Sanji was ever more disinclined to trust the words of a bandit, it was now. Although, what the girl said to Luffy earlier... Who was Luffy? Sanji then noticed where Luffy was.

"Oi, chore boy! Get back to work!" Slamming a foot on the top of Luffy's head, Sanji then made off with the poor boy. He threw one last adoring glance back at the girl before disappearing into the kitchen with him, snorting in disbelief as Luffy stuck his tongue out at him.

"Honored my ass."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"Luuuffyyy, why are you still working here?" Luffy only made a face at Usopp as he walked by with a towel.

"Because the ossan still won't let me go! Maybe if I talk to him again..." Zoro scoffed, swirling his sake in his cup.

"I think the hanaking's right. You need to leave before you turn eighteen, right? We should just leave. Or there's even that last-"

"Not a chance!" Luffy stated, grinning. "You're still stuck with us!" Luffy chuckled under his breath at the dark glare Zoro sent him, walking away. Usopp sighed.

"I don't know why you try so hard. He never gives up on anything." Zoro shrugged.

"Neither do I." He swallowed the rest of his drink before looking around oddly. "Where'd the witch go?"

"She's out back with the camel. She was acting kind of weird though..."

"She probably-"

"EEEEEK!" A glass dropped in the following silence, the customers around them standing and pointing out the door in horror.

"It's the Krieg Bandits!" A cloud of dust went up over the horizon, the sound of a multitude of horses trampling along following. Usopp shrieked and dove under the table as Zoro stood, interested.

"Who?" The customers were in too much panic to answer him.

"Hey! Gin's back!" Luffy exclaimed, smiling. He turned to Sanji standing next to him. "Maybe he wants to repay you for feeding him!" Sanji only rolled his eyes, but inspected the coming crowd more closely.

"Hm... That's odd..." The riders then came into view.

There were no less than fifty, all with the same signs of dehydration and starvation that Gin had previously shown. Their horses seemed to be on their last legs, and shook under the weight of their riders. At the front was a tall man on a proud horse, both looking at least a little better off than the rest. Sanji's eye narrowed as he watched them.

"They look so... dead." This didn't stop the leader from dismounting about fifty yards away, slowly walking towards the Baratie like a zombie. It was only until they had reached the doors that they could see the small figure holding the man up.

"Gin!" Gin panted as he stood in front of them, Krieg leaning on him.

"Please," He begged, looking at Sanji. "We need food. And water. Money's no problem this time, we're customers!" There was a great silence as the customers took in the sight. This was the infamous Krieg Don? Leader of the five thousand thieves?

"Please! He'll die!" Gin then stumbled forward, dropping Krieg on the ground. Everyone only looked on in contempt. Patty stepped forward.

"Ha! This is the man that's ravaged the kingdom of East Blue for so long?" Gin glared at him.

"We have money this time! Please!" Patty sneered at him.

"And let him ravage our restaurant? Bah!" He spat out. He turned to a nearby chef. "You there! Grab a messenger bird! Tell them we'll have a very... _unresisting_ Krieg Don on our hands." The customers around him murmured their agreement, smiling to themselves. Krieg himself then bowed.

"Please... just a drop of water... the desert is... so hot..." Gin stared in horror.

"Don't do this!"

"Only a drop..." Gin flinched back, tears streaming.

"Sir..." Patty snorted.

"You think I'll feel pity? You and your lot can just go to-"

"Hey, Patty." **WHUMP!** Sanji kicked the man in the side, sending him into a nearby wall, still balancing the plate and glass in his hands. "Get out of the way." Gin looked up.

"Sanji!" Sanji placed the food down.

"This ought to do the trick." The chefs stared in horror.

"Sanji! Don't you know who that is?"

"Get that food away from him!" Sanji turned and looked at them.

"I don't know too well, actually. I never was interested in stuff that happens around East Blue."

"He's Krieg Don! The most devious bandit in East Blue! Rumor has it he used to be a guard for the royal family, but was cast out by Akagami Shanks when he attempted to murder the-"

**SLAM!** Sanji was then thrown forward as Krieg stood and slammed his arm on him, sending him flying backwards. The empty plate and glass were shattered as he stepped forward, smirking. Luffy stared at him, squinting his eyes as he pointed at Krieg.

"Do I...?" Gin began yelling at Krieg.

"What the hell? I brought you here because you promised you wouldn't hurt them! That man saved both of- **Gack**!" Krieg grabbed Gin by the throat, looking around critically.

"Huh, nice place." He turned and looked the chefs in the eye, grinning madly. "I think I'll take it for myself."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"You're... Red Leg Zeff!" There was a collective silence as the remaining crowd looked at the heavily armored man in horror. Said man smirked. "Well, I'd heard rumors of your demise, but I suppose not much can keep a pirate such as yourself down!" Zeff narrowed his eyes.

"So what if I am? Now I'm only a humble chef." He kicked the large bag next to him in demonstration, nudging it towards Krieg. Krieg smirked at the peg leg on Zeff.

"Huh, was that your choice then?" Zeff said nothing. "You were famed to be a pirate that when you kicked your enemies, the blood ran down your leg, earning you your name of 'Red Leg'." Krieg nodded down towards Zeff's leg. "You may not be dead, but with only one leg you might as well be." Sanji was dangerously silent. Zeff snorted.

"As long as I've got two hands, I can cook. Proclaiming something to be dead is rich, coming from you. After all, who _attempted_ to murder the crown prince all those years ago?" A shock seemed to run through Luffy at these words, and he jerked forward.

"You...!" Krieg sneered.

"I got a nice hit on their guardian too, now he'd in a similar situation as you!" Luffy then stepped forward into Krieg's line of vision, glaring heatedly.

"You..." Krieg's eyes widened as he noted the hat, and the small scar under Luffy's left eye.

"You're-" Luffy stood in front of Krieg, fists clenched.

"You're the one that hurt Shanks!" Krieg grinned madly, staring at Luffy.

"Well, if it isn't the crown prince of East Blue, Luffy D. Monkey!" A ripple seemed to go through the crowd, including Sanji. Crown prince?

"He knows him?" Usopp asked to himself. Zoro hmmed.

"Huh, so you know each other. You sure you don't need that last wish, Luffy?" Luffy barely glanced in their direction.

"I can do this myself." He cracked his knuckles, glaring down Krieg. "He's the guy that cut off Shanks' arm!" Krieg held up a finger, smirking.

"Ah, you forgot about that little scar I gave you on your face too! How else would you get it? Stabbing yourself?" He sneered. "You're lucky I'm not interested in killing you anymore, otherwise I'd finish the job, right here! But..." Krieg picked up the bag, turning out the door. "I've found a new goal for myself. And I've gotten away from an old boss to escape it." He walked out towards the bandits, calling back

"If you feel like dying, then feel free to stay! Otherwise, this place had better clear out before I get back!" Luffy only watched with hard eyes as he walked away. He turned back to Zeff.

"Oi, ossan." Zeff hmmed and turned to him. "If I kick his ass, can I leave?" Zeff snorted.

"Trying to get out of marriage, eh? Huh." He shook his head. "Fine." Luffy grinned, pumping a fist in the air.

"Yosh!" Gin shook from his position on the floor, holding his head in his hands.

"Sanji, I'm so sorry..." Sanji only sighed, leaning against a table.

"Gin, I feed anyone who needs it. But to those who want to attack this place..." He glared down at Gin. "I will _kill_ them." Patty hmphed.

"This is all your fault, Sanji! And now you've gone bipolar on us!"

"Shitty cook..."

"Huh, sounds exciting." Zoro grinned to himself, fiddling with his katana. "I wonder if there are any strong opponents there." Zeff eyed him oddly, but shook it off as he turned to Gin.

"I've been in this desert for years boy, but I've never seen a crowd of bandits looking to have an old restaurant as their hideout. And from what I've heard, you bandits use magic caves as hideouts, something that can't be destroyed by any natural disaster. What happened?" Gin was silent as he sat there, looking down.

"... Krieg used to work for Arlong." There was a silence as Gin shivered. Luffy stared at him. "Arlong is the leader of the rebels, and he's always trying to take over East Blue. As you may know," Gin nodded at Luffy. "Krieg attempted to assassinate you all those years ago. He did this under the orders of Arlong. Even though he failed, Arlong forgave him... But then, about a week ago, Arlong returned from East Blue with something Krieg didn't like." Gin looked at Luffy head on. "He'd apparently buried the crown prince in the Cave of Wonders, but he'd lost the genie he was after." Luffy and Zoro gave a start at this, exchanging glances. Sanji noted but said nothing, turning back to Gin.

"So you were caught?" Gin shook his head.

"No, when Krieg turned on Arlong, he was sure to escape and abandon the hideout. But when we were searching for a new place... he came." Gin shivered, huddling in on himself. "We didn't do anything to him! We had over five hundred men with us, and he came swooping down on a magic carpet like we'd attacked him first! If there hadn't been a sand storm for cover, no doubt the rest of us would have..." Gin shook his head, torn. "I don't want to think about it. I don't want to think about the men, and I don't want to think about that man with the eyes of a hawk!" Zoro seemed to choke on his sake, jerking forward and paling slightly.

"_WHAT_?" The chefs around him gaped at Gin.

"The Krieg bandits were destroyed by one man?" Gin only shivered. Zeff looked down at him.

"He must have been Hawkeye Mihawk" A murmur rippled through the chefs.

"Hawkeye?"

"He's supposed to be..."

"The greatest swordsman in the world!"

"Hawkeye Mihawk? What's he doing in this country?" Luffy looked at Zoro, who was trembling as though he'd seen a ghost.

"What's wrong Zoro? You know him?" Usopp slapped the back of Luffy's head.

"Idiot! Think about it! Zoro's _way_ older than any of us!" Usopp then grew worried when Zoro didn't comment. "Oi, Zoro. I just said you were old!"

"..." Zoro didn't say anything.

"... Zoro? _Do_ you know him?" Zoro only shook his head.

"Impossible. But..." He hesitated. "... Do you know why I went to the seas all those years ago? Why I fought those vikings, why I fought those swordsmen?" Usopp shook his head, and Zoro sighed. "I set out to the seas for one purpose alone..."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Rika screamed as a shadowy figure seemed to rise out of the fallen Zoro, glaring at her with menacing eyes. It growled, fully rising and snarling at her. Helmeppo gaped at the swordsman, but began laughing.

"Heh... he heh... Haha! … HAHAHAHAHA!" He cackled. "It's all over for him! He'll be dead soon enough! No one's ever lived through Soro's attacks!" Rika backed away as Soro began slowly pacing towards her, snarling. "And now I'll get you! Soro! Atta-"** Shing!**

Soro collapsed to the ground, a large slice on its ethereal side. Helmeppo gaped at the fallen dog before turning his attention to the swordsman that was nearly collapsed again. "H-How? You shouldn't be able to move, let alone slice a phantom! That's impossible!" Zoro wavered unsteadily, but held up the katana in his hand. It was then that Helmeppo noticed that the katana he had dropped somewhere was now back in the swordsman's possession.

Zoro spat out blood and smirked, sending chills up the viking's spine like Soro never had. "It's a special sword, and one from a country that's used to dealing with things like that. You should have taken that into account." With that, he placed the sword in his mouth and picked up the other two, turning to the gaping Morgan. "I'm rather tired now, so I think I'll end this soon." Morgan's jaw clenched at the bored tone, stepping forward.

"Don't underestimate me! You're a dead man anyway, so why do you fight for a village not your own!" Zoro smirked.

"A true swordsman always keeps his promises, and I have a promise far beyond dying from an attack by such simple people." Zoro crouched, about to attack the twitching viking-

"WAIT!" Zoro gave a glance behind him to see Helmeppo shakily holding a small knife to Rika's throat, eyes wild. "D-Don't move! I'll kill her!" Rika trembled but held her chin up defiantly. She locked eyes with the frozen Zoro.

"Don't worry brother! I... I trust you!" Rika tilted her head back and squeezed her eyes shut, leaving a very silent Zoro. Zoro didn't even flinch as Morgan loomed behind him, raising his axe.

"I AM MORGAN THE AXE AND YOU WILL NOT DEFY ME!" Zoro instead went for Helmeppo, nearly slicing the bastard in half quicker than the blink of an eye. He could feel the wind from the attack from behind as Morgan struck...

Then stopped, looking down to see a sword thrust through his chest. Morgan barely had time to glance behind him and notice the pale, shaking boy with the sword before he collapsed. Zoro turned and smirked at the pink-haired boy seemingly frozen in place.

"Not too bad." The boy shakily lowered the sword, still trembling as he stared at Zoro incredulously.

"Wha... What would you have done if I hadn't..."

"Probably died." He face vaulted at that, leaving Zoro to check over Rika. Rika slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Zoro, smiling widely and throwing herself at him.

"Brother!" She began sobbing into his arm. Zoro awkwardly patted her back, looking over at the rest of the vikings.

To say that they seemed as frozen as statues was proper, as they all stared at their fallen leader with wide eyes. Morgan had been their leader for years, being unmatched in combat and ruthless in his leadership. Now that he was gone...

The vikings turned tail and fled, unwilling to fight off the demon man that had taken out even their phantom dog. The villagers cheered as they paddled away in their longboats, leaving the village far behind.

Later, Zoro sighed in satisfaction as he and the pink-haired boy (who he learned was named Coby) set down their plates and looked up at Ririka. Coby smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"T-Thank you for the meal, ma'am..." Ririka smiled at him.

"Nonsense. You two saved the town after all. And Rika, might I add." There were various murmurs of agreement as the villagers seemed to crowd around the tavern, though none came in. The men were already spreading the tale of what the two had done, adding in detail after detail as the story was exchanged. Zoro sighed as he leaned back, Rika then coming in.

"Brother! Guess what?" Rika skipped up to Zoro, holding something behind her back. Zoro blinked as she shoved a small thing in his face.

"Eh?" It was a small bundle of rice with a little wrap of seaweed holding it all together. Zoro stared at it for a second before Rika supplied

"It's an onigiri! I know you said it had salt, but I decided that sugar was better!" Zoro almost twitched. Almost. Instead, under Rika and Coby's watchful eyes, he picked up the onigiri and swallowed it, seaweed and all.

Coby never thought he would see such an unhealthy shade of greenish blue on a man, let alone the one that saved their town. Rika stared over the fallen Zoro, eager.

"Well? Wasn't it good?" Zoro didn't answer. "Brother?" Coby coughed.

"Ummm, I think he passed out, it was so good. You may not want to do that again; if everyone passes out, from how amazing it is," He added quickly. "Then..." Rika nodded, shaking Zoro's arm.

"Right. I'll make sure to use less sugar next time!" Coby sweat dropped. Ririka shook her head.

"What a brave young man. As you are yourself." She added, turning to Coby. "I heard that you aren't from this village, but what you did..." Coby glanced down, ashamed.

"I... I didn't really want to fight. The townspeople just assumed that I was from here, and took me along with them. But..." Coby glanced over at Zoro, who was slowly coming to. "After seeing him fight, without any fear for a promise alone, I... I wanted to be like that! And I didn't want to see him get killed!"

"Brother!" The two turned to see Zoro having a coughing fit, hand on his chest and blood spilling out his mouth. Rika stood back with frantic eyes. "I'm sorry! I didn't think it would be-"

"It's... It's not that." Zoro managed between coughs. He glanced down at himself with a perplexed frown. "It was that bastard dog. Stupid stupid stupid!" He ground out, standing himself up. Ririka watched him with wide eyes.

"W-What dog?" Coby stared at the look on Zoro's face.

"You... You knew that would happen?" Zoro shrugged, wincing.

"I had a good idea." Rika burst into tears, grabbing Zoro. Ririka was silent as Coby explained. She placed a hand on Zoro's shoulder.

"Zoro... I-"

"Don't say it." He stated, looking up at Ririka. "I won't die from this." Rika looked up at him with teary eyes.

"You promise?" She asked, sniffing. Zoro smirked.

"I promise. I always keep my promises." Rika still looked down. Zoro let out a gruff "Oi." Rika looked up at him. Zoro tapped the blade by his side. "You know why I won't die?" Rika shook her head.

"A long time ago, I made a promise to someone else. She was like you, strong and brave." Rika blushed and giggled. "We made a promise together. We promised that someday... one of us would be the world's greatest swordsman." Ririka started.

"But to do that, you'd have to defeat the current one." Zoro nodded, rising.

"I know. That's why I have to leave soon. I found out his name a few towns ago, and I need to find him. I've been searching for years." He stood, determined. "I'll find him. I'll find Hawkeye Mihawk. And when I do..." He reached up and wiped blood off his mouth.

"I'll fight him to the death. It was our dream, to be..."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"To be the world's greatest swordsman." Zoro finished, meeting Usopp's eyes. "I have a promise to keep, and I intend to keep it." Sanji heard this and snorted, turning away.

"That's crazy. You'll die from that kind of thing." Zoro glanced sharply at him.

"That may be true," He admitted. "But I gave up everything for that dream. My home, my family..." Zoro clenched a fist as he glanced down at the gold cuff on his wrist. "My freedom. The only one who has any right to call me crazy is myself." Zeff was silent as he stared at Zoro, then glanced back at Sanji, who only turned away with a 'Tch.' Luffy grinned as he looked at Zoro.

"So you'll definitely be the greatest swordsman! Just like I'll be sultan someday and Usopp will be the bravest warrior on the seas!" He finished. Usopp held up his nose in pride.

"I'm already the most famous bandit in East Blue, having over a thousand followers and-" Usopp was cut off by a poke to his head from Zoro.

"Don't lie." Sanji turned away.

"Definitely crazy."

"They're coming!"

"Over fifty of them at the least!"

"Protect the restaurant!" The four suddenly looked up as the shouts of the Krieg bandits came to them, and glanced out the window to see the large cloud of dust forming behind the oncoming men. They were suddenly cut off by a large wall of sand as the desert in front of them exploded.

The chef's eyes widened and everyone around them gaped in horror.

"What was that?" Usopp shrieked. Zeff's eyes widened as he stared ahead.

"That..." Luffy dashed outside, Zoro following.

"Nami's out there with our stuff!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Nami carefully patted Eyelashes, a confused frown on her face. The two were standing behind the restaurant with the other horses and supplies. Nami sighed.

"What do I do, boy? I need to kidnap the prince, but..." She trailed off, looking at the camel. "I have a good idea of what Arlong was doing then. Zoro's the genie he was after, isn't he?" The camel seemed to nod in agreement. Nami sighed.

"Then Arlong will have my head if I go back without him. But to see Arlong with three wishes..." She shivered. "I can't let that happen. So... what do I do? Should I just leave them?" She shivered at the thought. "No, then that'll be suspicious. Buggy or Kuro couldn't have gotten to him, but..." A thought occurred to her, and her eyes widened. "But what if..."

**BOOM!** Nami shrieked as a loud explosion sounded off from the front of the restaurant, and Zoro and Luffy dashed out.

"Nami! Are you okay?" Luffy demanded, running up to her and grabbing her arm. "There's something here! Come on!" Nami was silent as she allowed herself to be dragged inside, exchanging one last glance with Eyelashes.

No, she couldn't leave. Not just yet. That would make Arlong suspicious. But...

What if _she_ had three wishes?

"IT'S HAWKEYE MIHAWK!" Although, given the suddenly fierce look on the genie's face, Nami wasn't sure how she would pull such a thing off.

But Cocoyashi was still waiting for her, after all.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

HOLY CRAP NAMI DIDN'T LEAVE. :O The twist! The turn! The single most important thing that happened in East Blue _didn't go down_!

I've gone insane, yes. :D But this is an AU, right? … Yes. I do realize that even in AUs of East Blue Nami still leaves. I AIM FOR THE NEVER BEFORE TRIED AND TOTALLY UNPREDICTABLE! This is in my plot, yesss...

Oh, and by the way NinjaFoodLover... I WENT AND TRIED NARUTO AGAIN AND I LIKED IT, KAY? But my opinion of Naruto himself hasn't changed much. But I give my deepest respect for the author who managed to create such awesomeness like Kakashi (who defies the laws of expressiveness with only a single eye showing) and who could make _frogs_ look so badass. I'd have to be crazy not to respect that. So I went and read it. All of it. o_o I'm insane, yes.

So yesss... Thank you Mayo2198, animeXIII, Tamari, Neko11, eternitybeckons, cb, ZOroronoaRO, and kallakkala for your reviews! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY MEAN TO ME SERIOUSLY.

I hope you guys can review! Because they really do help me write. :D


	14. Fall

I've been working on this chapter awhile, because I really wanted to get it right. I put in a lot of build up to these moments, and I know it. It would be just plain cruel of me to not give in the very best of my efforts into satisfying you all, and I really hope you guys like it!

Also, I realize that there are some readers of this story that aren't quite so taken with Sanji. While I do try to balance this out, this is, on the whole, a Zoro-centric fic.

While this arc has Sanji, yes, there is still Zoro in it. This is, as stated by Tamari, one of the TOP TEN MOST AWESOMETASTIC ZORO MOMENTS in East Blue (that I didn't want to mess with too much) so I hope you non-Sanji-lovers will still like this arc! And Sanji fans, I hope I have enough Sanji in here for you to not hate me completely! Why can't we all just get along... TT

I don't own One Piece or Aladdin. Oda-sensei, we love thee to death. BUT I WANT THE CREW TO BE REUNITED SOON DAMN IT.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"**To be my own master; such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world!"**

**~Genie**

Sanji felt his hand clench by his side as he looked in the sky. A figure on what seemed to be a flying rug slowly descended towards the restaurant, giving an ominous aura. Sanji swallowed.

"Is that...?" Zeff nodded next to him.

"'Hawkeye' Mihawk. The invincible swordsman. The greatest in the world." Said man silently settled near the ground on his black carpet, arms crossed and looked thoroughly bored.

"So that's him..." Sanji didn't _quite_ flinch at the unexpected voice, but he did turn to the green-haired swordsman with a bit more snap than usual. Any insult was cut off by the look on his face.

_Hell_, it looked like Sanji when that town first appeared over the horizon after so many days of starvation. Only scarier. Sanji tore his gaze away to see the other three come up behind the man, worried.

"Zoro?" Luffy asked. "You okay?" Zoro didn't even glance back, instead slowly shaking his head.

"All this time... Tch." Sanji jumped back when the man suddenly vanished, not even leaving behind a cloud of smoke or any small explosions. One minute he was there, and the next he was gone.

The group didn't even blink, turning towards the scene with the bandits.

"You bastard!"

"Why the hell did you follow us?" The man slowly tilted his head up, like a cat regarding a bug sitting in front of it.

"Just... killing time." A shock seemed to go through the bandits at his blithe tone, and they began shouting

"Bastard!" With that, they began throwing knives at the man, only to frown in confusion as a black blur flashed and their knives buried themselves in the sand just short.

"The hell?" One bandit wondered. "Did we miss?"

"Like simple knife throwing is going to work on a master swordsman." Sanji's eye widened at the voice, only then noticing the swordsman standing behind the attacking bandits with a look of manic glee on his face. "Though that was a very subtle way of doing so. Not many were able to catch it." Hawkeye regarded Zoro lazily.

"The sword that is subtle boasts true strength." Zoro only grinned wider.

"You used that sword to create that storm?" The way he said it, it wasn't even a question. "That is the _real_ ultimate power." At his words, Sanji almost felt like slamming his head against a wall. What kind of idiot acted like such in front of someone that could easily-

"I've been looking for you for a long time. I didn't think..." Zoro trailed off as he regarded the man oddly, who only looked at him coldly.

"What do you want?" Zoro smirked.

"The ultimate power." Sanji glanced to the side to see the man's three companions watching intently. He briefly considered joining the orange-haired girl, but decided to save it for later. He could instead be a comforting shoulder when her friend died.

Mihawk looked at Zoro sternly. "Go back to your lamp, boy. You have all the power of the world, and yet you ask for more? I don't grant wishes, let alone to other genies." Sanji felt his jaw drop. Genie? Zeff only nodded at the look on his face.

"The price for the ultimate power is high, eggplant." He muttered. "It's nothing short than an eternity of servitude, granting wishes till the end of your days." Sanji looked back at the man that was shaking his head.

"No, I want your title. It's still the same after all these years, isn't it?" With this Mihawk raised a brow, then considered him a bit more.

"Ah, so that's it then. I heard there was a young green-haired brat looking all those years ago. Go the easy way out then?" He mocked. Luffy's jaw dropped.

"He _does_ know Zoro!"

"What's so great about that?" Sanji muttered under his breath. He could feel a headache coming, what with genies and bandits and swordsmen...

"Zoro's over a thousand years old." Nami said, still watching the exchange.

Yep, definitely a headache. Bordering migraine.

"Even without freedom, you come to me? And with a curse, no less." Zoro stiffened.

"Curse?" He growled out.

"Self-inflicted then," Mihawk drawled, standing as the carpet rested on the sand. "For whatever reason I cannot fathom, you've shut yourself off from your shifting powers. Fool." Zoro relaxed somewhat, drawing his swords.

"I don't suppose you have any time left to kill." He said. Mihawk eyed him critically.

"With that curse intact, you will be unable to heal yourself."

"I know." A flicker appeared in the man's eyes, but he nodded.

"Then let us begin." With that he reached to his neck and drew a small knife.

A vein throbbed in Zoro's head. "The hell?"

"A hunter does not use a cannon to take out small prey." Mihawk stated calmly. This appeared to be too much for Zoro.

"Watch your words!" He yelled, charging forward. "You'll feel stupid when you're dead! ONI..." Mihawk sighed to himself.

"Fool."

"GIRI!" Sanji nearly bit his tongue off at the sight if the tiny dagger blocking all three katana, the swordsman behind them shaking from the effort.

"With that little dagger..." Nami murmured, awestruck. Usopp trembled.

"Th-The world's greatest swordsman..." Zoro, to say the least, was horrified.

"I CAN NOT BE THIS FAR BEHIND!" Sanji watched as he unleashed what should have been a deadly barrage of strikes, all rendered harmless with nothing more than a small dagger.

"You think because you've lived a few centuries you know the world." Mihawk taunted, not giving an inch. "You're nothing but an ignorant fool, one that found the consequences when asking for power the easy way." Zoro's eyes narrowed and he jumped back, holding his two swords at an odd angle behind his shoulder.

"TORA GARI!" Dashing forward, Zoro struck quicker than the blink of an eye...

**Drip...**

**Drip.**

There was a deafening silence at the sight of a green-haired genie, one of the fabled most powerful beings of the universe, being skewered through the chest on a dagger. Mihawk seemed almost perplexed himself, even as he looked onto the eyes of the still-defiant Zoro. Zoro didn't back away from the blade, instead he calmly met the man's eyes.

"You know that you've cursed yourself to vulnerability, yet you don't retreat," Mihawk wondered. "What drives you? You have power, immortality..."

"Freedom" rasped Zoro, blood trickling out of his mouth. "A promise binds me more than any lamp. One to a friend long gone." Zoro closed his eyes peacefully. "There were so many times I wanted to simply smashed that damned lamp. So many times I couldn't take the shame. I was bound not to the countless masters, but to a promise alone." Mihawk tilted his head in acknowledgment.

"Promises unkept are binding on their own. To break them is to lose all honor as a swordsman." Zoro nodded.

"That is why I cannot retreat. After so many wishes, I've decided to grant my own..." Zoro grinned, meeting the yellow eyes staring him down. "I prefer death to defeat!" Mihawk regarded him before nodding, withdrawing the blade.

"State your name, boy." Zoro shifted, holding his swords in front of him.

"Roronoa Zoro." Mihawk slowly drew the blade from his back.

"I'll remember you, Roronoa. In honor of the swordsman's code, I will defeat you with my black blade. May I grant one final wish, from one genie to another." Zoro began twisting the swords in his hands.

"SANTORYUU OUGI..." Mihawk charged forward, blade held out.

"Die!"

"SANZEN SEKAI!"

Nami felt as though she couldn't breathe as the the two stood apart from each other, waiting to see who the victor was. This couldn't be happening; just this morning they were all laughing, all together, all a family...

When Zoro's swords shattered like glass and his front exploded in blood, Nami nearly screamed. Beside her Luffy stood watching, strangely silent. Nami wished he would interfere before Zoro was killed, but he only watched on, biting his lip. Zoro slowly removed his last sword from his mouth and sheathed it, turning and spreading his arms wide.

Mihawk stared. "What...?"

"Scars to the back are a swordsman's shame," Zoro replied, grinning. Mihawk's face morphed into a grin.

"Magnificent." Nami had to look away, unable to do much more than sob quietly as the black blade flew through the air.

"_ZOROOO!_"

Luffy gave a start as a loud cracking noise was heard, and reached into his pocket to pick out the lamp, now completely snapped in two. He clenched his fist as the bronze faded to a dull sheen, tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Damn you..." Beside him Sanji watched as Zoro fell to the sand in confusion.

"Why...? It would be so much easier to forget your dream and live on!" Zeff didn't look away.

"Swordsmen are bound by an honor that hinges on life and death," He stated. "For one to will himself into an eternity of servitude... It would be like killing who he is." Sanji didn't understand, even as Luffy's hoarse whisper turned into shouting, dropping the lamp pieces to the ground beside Usopp.

"**DAMN** **YOU!**" Luffy ran forward, arm stretching towards the expressionless Mihawk. Sanji felt his eyes bug out as Luffy's arm stretched all the way to Mihawk, sailing past him when said man only stepped to the side. Luffy tripped at the over reach and stumbled, rolling into a dune and getting his head stuck.

Usopp nudged Nami and the two raced forward while Mihawk's attention was on Luffy, dragging the too-still Zoro back to the restaurant. Usopp turned his attention to Nami.

"How is he?" He demanded. Nami bit her lip as she looked him over, then her eyes widened.

"He..."

"I am Mihawk Dracule, Roronoa Zoro. And it is too soon for you to die!"

Nami turned to Usopp hurriedly. "He's still alive! Get me some bandages, and fix that lamp!" Zoro let out pained gasps as Nami poured water over his chest, washing away the sand and blood.

"You have much more to learn about the world and discover your purpose in it! You must become stronger, you must become free!"

Nami pressed the provided bandages to Zoro's chest as Usopp turned to Sanji, picking up the lamp pieces. "Bronze! I need bronze!" Sanji hesitated.

"We... we don't have-"

"Then something else! Anything else!" Usopp demanded. He turned to Zoro. "Hang on, Zoro! We'll fix you up!"

"Hone your skills, master your heart! I will always be waiting as your final challenge!" Mihawk continued, Luffy silently watching him. "Dare to challenge me again, Roronoa Zoro! Dare to become free!"

Usopp met Zeff's gaze for a second until Zeff nodded, turning to Sanji. "Get the boy some of the fine silver. It's the best we have." Sanji silently complied, noting the desperate way Nami was pressing against Zoro's chest with the rag. He returned and handed it to Usopp, who thanked him.

"Zoro, we don't have any forge tools! Can you hear me?" Luffy stared incredulously at the man in front of him, who looked back just as calmly.

"So you're his master?" Luffy shook his head.

"I'm his friend." Mihawk smiled slightly.

"Luffy D. Monkey, prince of East Blue. I've heard of you from an old friend." Luffy blinked, eyes wide.

"Who?" Mihawk only smirked, then frowned.

"Don't make your third wish." Luffy blinked at the sudden warning.

"I don't want it though." Mihawk shook his head.

"If you make your third wish, he will die." He stated flatly, leaving Luffy shell shocked.

"Then how do I free him?" Luffy demanded. "You're free, right? How?" Mihawk considered the boy in front of him gravely.

"Why would you want to know?"

"Because we're nakama!" Luffy stated firmly. Mihawk grinned. An interesting team...

Usopp held up Zoro's finger as it produced a steady stream of fire, sealing the melted silver along the two pieces of lamp. Zoro struggled against the pain but kept up the fire. Nami looked up.

"The cut's sealing up! But it's not closing properly..." Instead of completely healing over, the long wound pressed together, only somewhat stopping the blood flow. Usopp shook his head as he finished with the lamp, setting it next to Zoro.

"I guess he wasn't kidding when he said he needed bronze. Let's get him inside-" Usopp was cut off by Zoro swinging his sword up, holding it as he coughed.

"Lu... Luffy... Can you hear me?" Luffy looked up, staring at Zoro as a grin slowly formed on his face.

"I can hear you!" Zoro's arm wavered slightly.

"I... Thank you, Luffy." He managed. "I've been nothing but trouble for you, but..." Usopp looked away as a few tears streamed down Zoro's face. "But is it okay... if I become your nakama?" Luffy grinned as wide as he could.

"We always were, Zoro!" Zoro grinned just as wide, spitting out a glob of blood. Nami bit her lip.

"I'm not sure if it's okay to talk... You need rest!" Zoro ignored her.

"Then from now on," Zoro affirmed, face practically leaking. "I will never lose again! I'll be free someday, and I'll fight until I meet him again! I will fight for eternity!" Zoro's grip on his sword wavered. "Any problems with that, captain?" Luffy's face practically split in two.

"Hehehe, none at all!" Mihawk grinned.

"An interesting team indeed..." He turned back to his carpet, standing on it as it floated off the ground. "Remember what I said, boy. May we meet again."

"Hey! Hawkeye!" There was a collective twitch as Krieg decided he had enough of this, stepping up to the man. "Don't you want the head of Krieg Don? The leader of the five thousand thieves?" Mihawk considered him calmly.

"I considered it, but I'm on my way to visit a friend. I think I'll be on my way." Krieg twitched.

"You aren't going anywhere!" Behind him his men were practically in tears. Why couldn't Krieg just let him leave? He had just defeated a genie, for Allah's sake! Krieg ignored their pleas for sanity and whipped out a large hand cannon, pointing it at Mihawk.

"GO TO HELL!" Krieg roared as the cannon exploded, the large fist-sized projectile zooming towards the swordsman. Mihawk gave a single swipe from his blade.

"Those like you simply never learn."

The desert exploded.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Sanji watched Krieg shout something at his men, glancing back to the trio inside the restaurant. To the green-haired idiot on the ground, only hanging on to life by a patched up lamp and an odd group of friends with tear-streaked faces.

It just didn't make sense. Sanji knew dreams. He knew it like he knew starvation. That ever aching hunger for accomplishing a goal, the drive that kept people alive at times...

But to die for it? To throw away everything in life you held dear for it? Sanji couldn't fathom the idea. Zeff seemed to understand, but Sanji simply couldn't. There were other things, less selfish things, to die for. To throw away your life for your own idea?

No, Sanji just couldn't understand. Inside, Nami and Usopp carefully wrapped up Zoro's torso with bandages. Nami shook her head, looking down fiercely at the unconscious Zoro.

"Idiot. Making us all worried. Making Luffy go nuts. Nearly dying. Heh." She sighed as the two finished, rolling Zoro back onto his back. She looked around. "Usopp, where's his lamp?" Usopp blinked.

"I think Luffy has it." Nami shot him a look.

"You left the broken, fragile lamp with the kid that's going to go up against at least a hundred bandits?"

"..."

"..."

"... I'll be right back." Usopp dashed out the door, leaving Nami alone. She sighed, looking down at him again.

"... I don't understand it, really." She murmured. "People dying for their ideas. For their dreams, for their people. What drives you? What makes death worth anything?" She snorted, leaning back. "And here I am, talking to a half-dead man about something that will always haunt me. Bellemere was a lot like you, I suppose. Stubborn, strong, didn't take crap from anyone. But..." Tears misted up Nami's eyes slightly as she looked at Zoro's face. "But for such a strong person to go down like that... What could she have been thinking? What were _you_ thinking?" She shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, I suppose. I need you alive, and that's all that matters. I have wishes too, you know." Nami sat herself in a nearby chair, facing the door should any trouble reach them. "You aren't the only one with a dream."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"Gomu gomu no... OGAMA!" Luffy stretched out both arms as far as he could, slamming into the bandits that approached the restaurant, the chefs behind him cheering him on.

"Go chore boy!"

"Kick their asses kid!" Luffy only had eyes for Krieg, who smirked at him. Luffy glared.

"I'm gonna kick your ass, you ungrateful bastard!" Krieg only grinned and hefted the cannon on his shoulder.

"Let's get to work then!" They were cut off by loud shouting from the restaurant and turned to see Patty and Carne wheeling out a _huge_ cannon.

"Stop rolling that way! You'll aim it at the Baratie!"

"I know that, dumbass! Go the other way!"

"You couldn't hit the desert with that kind of aim!"

"SHUT UP!" Krieg twitched as the two struggled to aim the barrel of the cannon directly at Krieg, both grinning.

"Say your prayers!"

"Idiot! Don't say that until we get there!" Krieg only watched them, brow twitching.

"Fools." Meanwhile the bandits decided they had enough, charging the chefs.

"Let's get em!"

"After those chefs!" The bandits yelled and rushed towards the restaurant, engaging the chefs in quite possibly the oddest tiny war East Blue had ever seen. Meanwhile Patty and Carne managed to point the barrel at Krieg.

"Fire!"

**BOOM!**

"..." Patty and Carne stared with blank faces and the still Krieg. "... Why isn't he shot down? That projectile was..." Carne trailed off as Krieg held up his hand. In it was a large shot the size of Krieg's head. Considering all, this was fairly large. "EH?"

Krieg was now pissed, pulling his arm back and throwing the projectile back at the cannon as hard as he could. "I DON'T HAVE TIME TO PLAY WITH YOU!" The cannon exploded as the projectile crashed into it, sending the wreckage in every direction.

Sanji calmly regarded the larger part of the wreckage that flew towards him, sighing. "Idiots..." With that, he jumped up and kicked the large piece of metal away, stunning the enemies. Sanji landed, ignoring the shouts around him as he looked at the cowering Usopp. "Oi." Usopp jumped and turned to him.

"... Yes?"

"Make yourself useful." Usopp fidgeted.

"I... I can't fight very well. And I don't have a weapon..." Usopp trailed off as the two suddenly glanced over to the chefs, all fallen before the gloating bandits.

"Don't compare us with typical bandits! We're Krieg's bandits!" One of them crowed, tossing aside a chef.

"Damn..." One of the chefs coughed. "They're... too strong..."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?" Patty, looking singed but not too badly off, bellowed as he stormed up to the fighting group. Carne joined him, both looking pissed.

"THAT'S RIGHT! WE'RE CHEFS OF THE BILSTERING DESERT! WE DON'T BACK DOWN AT ALL!" Patty rolled his shoulders and held up the scrap piece of metal from the cannon.

"I haven't been hired in more than ten years because of my attitude, but then Zeff took me in!" He declared.

"This place is our home! It's the only place we can do what we love; both of them! Cooking _and_ fighting!" Carne yelled, holding a similar piece. Together they charged the bandits.

"WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN!" Usopp twitched as he watched the two chefs blaze through the bandits, then noticed one attempt to sneak inside.

"Hey!" The bandit turned and glared intimidatingly.

"Don't interfere! Krieg wants that genie, and I'm giving it to him! Even if I have to kill that orange-haired witch!" Usopp felt almost cold as he realized what Krieg's objective seemed to be now. Not even thinking, Usopp raced forward and tackled the bandit to the ground.

"You won't touch them!" He yelled, giving the man a solid hook to the chin. The bandit attempted to pull his dagger on him but Usopp reached down and scooped up sand, throwing it in his eyes.

The man yelped and dropped the dagger, clutching his eyes in agony. Usopp picked up the dagger and hoped that Johnny and Yosaku's theory had been right, giving the dagger a good toss.

The man dropped like a sack of potatoes, the dagger sunk straight into his stomach. Usopp didn't dwell on this and retrieved the dagger, brandishing it as he stood in front of the doors.

"I'd almost like to see what would happen if they reached Nami." He muttered, not noticing the old man come up behind him.

"And why would that be?" Usopp yelped and jumped at the voice, waving the dagger wildly. He recovered and glared at Zeff.

"Don't do that!" Zeff only folded his arms. "... Please?" Zeff snorted.

"You really care for that genie, don't you?" Usopp tilted his head, confused.

"Of course we do. He's our friend. Sure, Zoro's scary and grumpy and homicidal and irritable and just plain angry..." Usopp could have sworn he'd heard a cough, but shook off the notion and continued "But he's still our friend. A scary friend, but one I really trust, you know?" Zeff didn't speak as he watched Sanji and the chefs pummel the bandits into the sand behind them.

"... It's a family tradition." Usopp blinked at the unexpected statement.

"What?"

"Leaving on their seventeenth birthday. Every prince of East Blue does that. They don't go back for years at times, and some, very few, don't go back at all." Usopp felt his jaw drop.

"Why?" Zeff eyed him.

"Don't think it's a bad thing. Do you know why East Blue is the most prosperous, diplomatic, and generally most sought-after kingdom in this country?" When Usopp shook his head he said "Monkey sultans of East Blue, despite their childish demeanor and completely stupid antics, are actually the wisest people you will ever meet. By skipping out on their arranged marriage, they have a chance to find themselves true happiness in life and the adventure of a lifetime. A true man's romance like that is the key to worldly wisdom, something irreplaceable and damn near impossible to find in a ruler nowadays. The rest of them are all fools in comparison."

"Speak for yourself." **SLAM!** Zeff was suddenly shoved to the ground by Gin, startling Usopp. Gin immediately grabbed and snapped off his peg leg. When Usopp moved forward Gin leaned down and held a blade under Zeff's throat. He regarded Usopp sadly.

"I really didn't want to do this, really. But..." Gin cleared his throat, looking up sharply. "Sanji!" Sanji had just beaten Pearl with Luffy, the two looking startled as they saw what Gin was doing.

"Gin?" Sanji demanded. "What the hell are you doing?" Luffy made to beat him up but was held back by Sanji. None of the chefs dared to move, though they vigorously protested Gin's actions. Sanji cleared his throat.

"What do you want?" Gin met his gaze.

"For this man's life, you need to leave this restaurant forever." There was a collective silence as the chef's processed Sanji's face.

"... Leave the Baratie?" Sanji asked quietly, his face morphing into a fierce scowl. "Why don't you just go to hell?"

"Sanji! Don't agitate him!"

"You idiot! Are trying to get Zeff killed?" Sanji only met Zeff's eyes.

"What's wrong, shitty geezer? Cat got your tongue?" Zeff scowled.

"You have no right to talk to me like that, damned kid!" Sanji glared.

"Don't talk to me like I'm still a kid, damn it!" The chefs around him were startled. Was Sanji really trying to get rid of him? What Sanji said next then stripped away all previous beliefs and left a group of dumbfounded chefs.

"Gin, point the gun at me instead." Luffy immediately protested.

"The hell? You'll be killed!"

"... That's alright." Jaws all around the restaurant dropped. Gin faltered with the knife, drawing back slightly.

"Sanji... why?" Sanji stiffened slightly when another figure rose up behind him.

"If you want to die so badly..." A giant shield with a pearl inlay slammed into the side of his head. "Don't let me hold back!" Luffy yelled as Sanji flew into the side of the restaurant.

"Sanji!" Pearl only smirked.

"Serves you right." Luffy growled at him, pulling back for a punch.

"You..."

"_Don't_!" Luffy paused and looked back to Sanji in confusion.

"Why didn't you just avoid the attack?" Sanji snorted, shakily pulling himself up.

"He's holding the geezer _hostage_, moron. Doesn't that mean anything?" Sanji turned and glared at the man. "Shitty coward. You really think I'll agree?" Gin's hand shook.

"Why? You and everyone else will survive then! It's easy to give this up for your lives!" Sanji felt a sense of deja vu at the words, but only glowered.

"This restaurant... is that old man's treasure!" He declared. "I've already taken everything away from him! His power, his dream... I won't let him lose anything else!" Zeff growled from his position.

"Now... is really not the time, damned kid!"

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that?" Sanji yelled. "I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Sanji! Look out!"

"Pearl... Close!" Pearl then came up behind Sanji and slammed his shields on both sides of Sanji's head. Sanji let out a groan and collapsed to the ground, much to the horror of the chefs and Luffy.

"Sanji!"

"Pearl..." Pearl, however, wasn't finished, and jumped high in the air, bracing for another attack to the fallen Sanji. Luffy was infuriated as he turned to yell at Gin.

"You've really gone low, Gin!"

"Damn it, this is what happens!" Gin yelled back. "This is how we do things! It's all your fault, too! If you'd just given up, you'd all be fine!"

"PRESENT!" Pearl then slammed headfirst into Sanji's back, his round helmet crushing his spine.

"AAAUGH!"

"Sanji!" Sanji lay still on the sand, the image of the gun still in his mind, pointing at Zeff...

"Shitty... geezer..." He spat out.

"_All Blue?"_

"_Yeah, the legendary sea! Ever heard of it?"_

"Sanji! What do you mean, you took everything from Zeff?" One of the cooks suddenly asked.

"_One day, I'll find All Blue!"_

"_That sea's just a myth, kid!"_

"_Yeah, it may seem like a paradise, but you'll waste your life looking for it!"_

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"I can't believe these people would just waste all this food!" A tall chef exclaimed, holding a dish and eating the leftovers off of it. "Perfectly good food!"

"Don't eat that, it's garbage!" A ten year old Sanji demanded, looking at them in disgust. "We already have food, and we'll be in port in a couple of days! There's no need to eat garbage!" The chefs only laughed.

"Look kid, there's something you need to learn about sailing on the sea. And that's to not waste food!" One of the chefs said. "Now be a good boy and eat this leftover fish!"

"Ew! Throw that away!"

"_PIRATES!_" Sanji didn't remember much as the ship flew into a mad panic, people running here and there and shoving all around. In the end Sanji huddled in the kitchen, self-preservation not allowing him to simply walk out.

"Who... Who wants to die by pirates," He muttered to himself.

He did, however, remember the three pirates who came in that night. All three were loud, angry, and just plain hungry. Two of them decided to pick on Sanji, forcing the kid to grab two nearby knives and defend himself. However, Sanji's eyes widened when he saw the third go after the food.

"Leave that alone!" He yelled, running after him. The other two blocked him off as the third decided he'd had enough and dragged the bag out on deck. Sanji turned his attention fiercely to the other two, clumsily brandishing the knives.

"OW!"

"Sonuva-"

"Get back here!" Sanji raced up to deck after the food, only to be stopped by the two pirates. The third was no where to be seen. The one Sanji had nicked growled.

"Kid, it's dangerous to play with knives. See, I'm already hurt!"

"Shut up!" Sanji yelled. The crew members and passengers began yelling at Sanji to back down. The pirate captain, however, had heard him.

"You want to die so soon?" He asked gruffly, stepping forward. "Let me help you then!" Sanji growled with the knives.

"Who wants to die? You'll just kill us anyway, won't you? So I just need to kill you first!" Sanji yelled and charged at the man, only to be thrown back by a single kick. Sanji collapsed in the wall, but crawled forward stubbornly and clinged to the captain's leg.

"I... I won't die here!" He rasped. "I'll live! And I'll find... All Blue..." The man silently watched him before kicking him into the far side of the deck, his crew laughing all the while. Sanji didn't get up, but only watched the man with teary eyes.

"Captain! The storm's here faster than we thought!"

"We need to go, now!" The captain turned away.

"Fine. Take the treasures and let's leave!"

"SANJI!" The chefs yelled as a freak wave swept over the side of the ship, taking Sanji with it. Without a second glance, the pirate captain kicked the mast in half and dove overboard, his crew yelling behind him.

"Captain!"

"Look out!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Sanji slowly awoke to the noise of seagulls, nose twitching. With a groan he tilted his head to the side and stiffened.

Sand. Not just in the immediate area, but across the flat lands as far as the eye could see. Rolling hills, flat plains, dusty winds, all coated with yellow sand and dotted with tall, green cactus.

"What...?"

"This seems to be some desert country." Sanji hissed as he sat up with a start, not noticing the other person with him. He looked around wildly before his eye set on the man behind him, sitting and watching the shore. The man sighed. "Most likely days away from port. No food, no water, just... sand." Sanji glared at the back of his head.

"What do you mean, no food or water? What's that big bag with you?"

"Treasures." The man said tersely. He snorted. "Fat load of good that'll do us." Sanji then noticed the boards of wood littering the beach. He carefully picked one up.

"This..."

"Our ships. Both of them." The man sighed and leaned his head back. "No bodies, so they're probably still alive, but..." He then turned to glare at Sanji, who realized who he was talking to.

"You!" The man stood, and Sanji faltered. "What... your leg...?"

Instead of the man's foot, the source of his ultimate power as a pirate captain, there was a tied off pant leg dripping blood onto the sand below. The man reached down and retied the old plank holding it up, grimacing when he gently set some weight on it.

"Just a mishap with the anchor. We need to get moving. We'll die out here soon." With that the man began hobbling towards the desert, taking only a small kitchen knife. Sanji seemed stupified, but yelled

"Hey!" The man paused. "Why should I go with you? I don't even know you!" The man snorted.

"Fine then. My name's Zeff." He said, turning to glare at Sanji. "And you'll come because you'll die otherwise, stupid kid."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

So roughly the same thing, just with a bit of a twist. Like a swirled desert! Get it? Desert? Des_sert_? HAHAHA~! :D

… *dies of stupid joke*

Sorry that it's somewhat similar (you guys just missed the fighting, but that's okay for me), but I can only really skip parts that are essential to the plot, and there are little things thrown in between that are simply too short to skip. The whole bit with Usopp... You guys _do_ realize that while he's supposed to fight in Cocoyashi, he doesn't have a weapon, right? And he's never fought before. This be problematic. But I just couldn't put in a street rat at the beginning that happened to like playing with slingshots! Especially when that wasn't the norm. If he had picked a weapon back then, it probably would have been a sword or a dagger.

… I love daggers. They're so shiny and short and can easily be thrust and thrown. So cool. :DDD

Sorry about the shortness (in my perspective) and I hope you guys are nice enough to leave reviews? :D It's fine if you just read it too, but I really do appreciate reviewing...

Speaking of which, thank you ShinigamiWanabe, Neko11, Mayo2198, Tamari, cb O chan, ZOroronoaRO, kallakkala, and Atrum Phasmatis for your wondrous reviews~! C-REE-S-LEE APPRE-C-8 IT.

Linhae, OUT.

… Seriously, Oda-sensei. I want the crew back together. NAO. … Please? :D

PS: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO ALL MY FELLOW AMERICANS. For those not American... Happy... July? :D

FIREWORKSOHYES. 8DDD


	15. Resolve

OKAY THERE WAS A CURSE ON THIS CHAPTER I SWEAR. I have this horrid case of Writer's Block... TT On both stories. And then Horizons got to a hundred and I was all W00T WRITING FRENZY. 8DDD

… And then Tamari reminded me that this story existed and I paused mid chapter to finish this. It was just sitting there, half complete, my mind in some weird slump. Sorry about that, and thanks to Tamari for getting my ass back in gear (again)! xD

In other news: POKEMOOOOOON~

I just got a new pokémon game, and I'm already reserving my own copy of Pokémon White! :DDD NEW GENERATION W00T.

Anyway, all of those lovely comments made me blush so hard~! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA. We're almost to a hundred reviews! A hundred! You guys wanna make it past the ultimate checkmark with me...? :D

And Tamari? Was there ZoNa? … Maybe. :DDDDD Hah, I wish... I suck at writing romance. I never even bothered to try. But if there was any hints of ZoNa... Yay me? Lawlz, sorry. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for ZoNa. So while I didn't _intentionally_ put any hints in there, I didn't go out of my way to ensure that it never existed. This, however, is a story that came with the promise of no romance. So no romance shall there be. D:

… I'll try to tone it down, but it's really meant as pure nakamaship. Plus, Nami still needs some development for her actions further in the story, and Usopp and Luffy are a bit busy at the moment. :x Zoro's the only one not involved along with Nami, sorry.

I don't own One Piece or Aladdin~! Ding!

PS: Oh yeah, and Zoro's rant about nakama and samurai is most likely complete bull. Don't quote me on it, please. :D

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"**There's no food here! This foraging stuff is for the..."**

**~Iago**

**Day 2**

Sanji carefully watched Zeff carve into the cactus, mentally taking notes. First he cut off the top- apparently working from the top to the bottom. It wasn't luck that Zeff happened to grab his remaining kitchen knife. It was knowledge.

Idly Sanji wondered how many times the old geezer had visited the desert before said man grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him in the meager shade of the cactus.

"Here." Zeff handed Sanji a small piece of odd, pulpy substance. Sanji made a face.

"What is that?"

"Water." Zeff held up his own piece. "Chew. Don't swallow." Sanji held his piece up, smelling it.

"Why no-?" Without a word the cactus piece was suddenly shoved in his open mouth.

"Don't. Swallow. It's poison." Sanji choked on the pulp in horror. Zeff rolled his eyes. "Only the pulp, brat. The water isn't _too_ much better, but it will do." Sanji carefully chewed the soft pulp, noting the odd, slimy water crawling down his throat.

When the pulp was no more than dry food he spat it out. Zeff did the same with his own pulp then began walking away. Sanji looked up from his shady spot.

"Where are you going?" He demanded. Zeff motioned for him to follow.

"We need to keep walking, dumbass. There's not a town for miles around. We'll die of starvation soon, after all."

"If you die, I get to eat you." Was all Sanji said in reply. Zeff chuckled slightly.

"Then I guess I'd get to eat you. Too bad you wouldn't make much of a snack." Sanji didn't reply, instead turning up his nose and walking away.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Day 4**

"Old man..." Zeff paused in his walking and looked back to see Sanji staggering, obviously exhausted.

"Hn?"

"... I'm tired..." Sanji sat down, breathing heavily. "And thirsty..."

"And hungry, I suppose?" Sanji looked up to see Zeff looming over him. "We both are kid. The only difference between you and me is the fact that you have _two_ legs, a young body, and a lot less need for food and water than my larger self." Sanji didn't know where to look then, instead standing quietly and beginning to walk again. He walked a few steps and stopped, looking back and glaring at Zeff.

"I'm still going to live longer than you, shitty old geezer! I'm going to get out of this desert no matter what!" Zeff nodded tersely and Sanji stormed away. His scowl settled into an approving smirk as he watched Sanji struggle over the dunes, not letting his exhaustion show.

"That's the spirit, eggplant." He murmured quietly. "That's what'll get you All Blue."

He didn't pay any attention to the shaking of his own stump of a leg, even as it dripped fresh blood down the plank.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Day 15**

Zeff lay sleeping in the shade of the dune that night, Sanji watching for travelers. Well, at least he was supposed to be. Instead he had nicked the kitchen knife and ran off to a nearby cactus that the old man had somehow missed (probably because it looked somewhat different than the other cacti they used for water), carving a piece of pulp for himself.

"Shitty old geezer. I can survive without his help." Sanji grumbled under his breath as he hacked away at the cactus. "See if I need him." Sanji pulled out the pulp and stuck it in his mouth, chewing. When the last of the moisture was down his throat, he spat it out and began to go back to camp.

Only to stumble when the world tilted. He barely caught himself, breathing heavily. What was that? One step on the ocean and he was-

Wait. Sanji slowly turned around and _stared_.

The ocean! Sanji was suddenly standing on the beach again, the ocean in front of him and the horrible desert far behind. There was a ship there, the crew all smiling and waving at him, yelling for him to join them.

Sanji was just about to run forward when a plank struck his head from behind, sending his world into darkness.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Day 17**

Sanji groaned as a faint light penetrated his eyelids, forcing him to wake up. He was faintly aware of a bobbing motion, almost like he was...

… Being carried?

"Gah?"

"Tch. You're finally awake." Sanji was suddenly plopped back onto the sand, Zeff standing and scowling over him. Sanji held a hand to his head.

"What... What happened?" Zeff scowled even fiercer, pointing at him accusingly.

"You ate a damned Mescal Cactus, you stupid kid. Those things are _poison_." Sanji gaped at Zeff for all of ten seconds before glaring right back.

"You didn't tell me that!"

"I didn't think you were stupid enough to sneak off in the middle of the night with my knife! You don't touch another chef's knife, fool!"

"You should have let me go then! I was happy there!" Sanji began sniffling. "There was the captain and the chefs and they were all happy and they had food..." A few tears trickled down Sanji's face. "And some of it was in the garbage, because I said it was trash and that no one should eat it. But... But..." Zeff watched him for a minute before turning away.

"We need to keep on moving. There's likely not a town for days. We'll die soon without food or water." Sanji didn't say anything, but picked himself up and tottered after Zeff.

"... And that really was a stupid thing to do, damned kid."

"SHUT UP! You shitty old geezer!"

**Clunk!**

"OW! Damn it, how does that hurt even worse than a _real _leg?"

"You trying to fight with me, eggplant?"

**Chomp!**

"STUPID KID! GET OFF MY LEG!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Day 27**

Sanji slowly plodded forward, vision hazy.

"Stupid... I'll..." Sanji glanced behind him to see Zeff limping, his leg bleeding again. The both of them now looked akin to skeletons, having not eaten in weeks. Once Sanji tried to eat the pulp from the cactus and ended up puking most of his body fluids. They'd spent the rest of the afternoon forcing more water down his throat after that.

Sanji took three more steps and stopped dead, eyes wide.

"Eggplant?"

"T-Town..." Zeff peered ahead uneasily. He didn't see- "We're in town! Old geezer, we've been in a town all along! Ha HA!" Sanji twirled on the spot, arms spread wide. He began running in small zig zags, grabbing invisible things and shoving them into his mouth.

"Look! They have bread here!"

"Hey, a sweets vendor!" But the worst part was when Sanji took one look at a nearby cactus, gaping and dropping his 'wares'.

"Geezer... A whole pool of water! For drinking!" Sanji raced forward, fully prepared to dive in, making Zeff swear and lurch forward.

"Eggplant, don't!" Sanji dived.

"AAUGH!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"Stupid eggplant," Zeff grumbled under his breath as he removed one of the thorns from Sanji's back. "Some things are too good to be true."

Sanji only whimpered as he pulled another thorn from his arm.

After Sanji no longer looked like a porcupine, the two found a cactus and decided to rest for the night. Sanji stared quietly into the sky before hesitating.

"Hey, old guy..." Zeff only 'hn'ed. "What are you going to do with only one leg?" Zeff followed his gaze to the stars, contemplating.

"... I can't be a pirate anymore," He finally said. "I don't want to, at least." Sanji blinked.

"Why? You still kick hard," He said, absentmindedly rubbing his head. "And I've heard stories of pirates with only one leg." Zeff leaned back, closing his eyes.

"There's a lot more to a pirate than his leg, brat. There's his crew, his... Ah, there was a word for it somewhere in the east. I think it was called... nakama."

"Nakama?" Sanji asked, tilting his head. "What's that?"

"It's a bond between people that goes further than friends, like family, but deeper than that," Zeff explained. "I had nakama on that ship, all of them." He sighed wearily. "I don't want to be a pirate without them. They were all... such good people..." Sanji didn't know what to say to the mournful look Zeff shot at the stars.

"... How did you lose your leg?"

"I told you, it got caught on an anchor." Sanji stared at Zeff in disbelief.

"But if the ship was already sunk..."

"I was overboard before the wave came, dumbass."

"Why?"

"..." Zeff stared hard at Sanji, then shook his head. "None of your business, eggplant." Sanji glared back.

"It's just a simple question, shitty geezer! That just makes me want to know!" Zeff whapped the back of his head.

"Well you aren't going to know, so shut your trap! Go to sleep, we'll die if we don't get to a town soon." Zeff rolled over then, signaling the conversation was over. Sanji rubbed the back of his head, scowling at the man's back.

"Stupid old man. I won't die. Not for at least eighty years."

"Then I'll live for a hundred more." Sanji immediately shushed himself and rolled onto the sand, eventually falling asleep.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Day 43**

Sanji stretched his arms to the sky, yawning as he awoke. The familiar pangs of hunger assaulted him, but he was far too familiar with them by now to let them stop him. He groaned and shifted, sitting up to look at the still sleeping figure of Zeff.

"Old guy, let's go."

Silence.

"... Old geezer?"

Not even a grunt.

"Zeff!" Finally, Zeff shifted and turned to glare at Sanji.

"The hell do you want, eggplant?" Sanji glared back, hiding his relief.

"Why do you call me that anyway? Stupid old man!"

"Dumbassed kid. I'll call you whatever the hell I want." Zeff rolled himself into sitting up, gingerly putting weight on the plank. He hissed, blood dripping down the side of the red wood, staining it a darker shade. Sanji hesitated as he looked at the plank.

"Shouldn't... .shouldn't that have been better by now?" He asked meekly. It was obvious it caused the man excruciating pain, but he carefully balanced on his leg and shrugged.

"It'll be fine." Sanji only eyed the blood again. Zeff snorted. "You worried about me, eggplant?"

"N-No! Stupid geezer! Like I'd worry about you!" Sanji retorted, turning away. "I'm just making sure you can keep up with me!" With that he stormed in the direction of the sun, not looking back.

Had he, he might have noticed Zeff's clenched fists as he hobbled over the dunes, or the way the bleeding never quite stopped.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Sanji walked along under the sun, unnerved by the old man's silence. Was he okay? His leg had been bleeding for a while, leaving a trail of red in the sands behind them. A morbidly useful way of making sure they hadn't doubled back. Sanji glanced back for the first time in hours, and nearly felt his heart stop.

Zeff wasn't there.

"... Old man?" Sanji called hesitantly. No reply. "Old man!" Sanji immediately turned a one-eighty, racing back the way he came. "H-Hey! Where are you?"

It was sometime later that Sanji found Zeff, unconscious. Sanji's heart leapt to his throat and he raced forward, shaking the man's shoulder.

"Geezer!" He yelled in the man's year. "Wake up!" Zeff didn't stir, and when Sanji found it in him to roll him over he looked pale, weak from the hunger and thirst and loss of blood.

Rather like a skeleton.

"Geezer!" Sanji shoved Zeff's shoulder again, eyes wide. "Hey, don't do that! You said you'd live a hundred years longer than me, you old shit bag!" Sanji nearly cried when Zeff stirred, looking up with bleary eyes.

"... Eggplant?" He asked wearily. "The hell are you doing here?" Sanji glared back.

"You fell behind, dumbass! Stupid old man, can't you keep up?" Zeff chuckled slightly before it turned into hoarse coughing. Sanji hesitated.

"What... what's wrong with you?" Zeff grunted.

"It's the leg." Sanji paused, then crawled over to Zeff's leg, pulling back the pant leg over the wood.

And very nearly fainted on the spot.

Zeff's remaining piece of leg was anything but healthy flesh. It was more of black, green, and red lumps of dead and dying flesh all lumped together in the vague form of a leg, the wood digging in and even splintering into the amputation point.

It was a miracle the old man had been able to get this far.

"W-What the hell? What happened to it?" Zeff didn't even bother glancing down.

"I told you..." He wheezed. "It got caught on an anchor chain." Sanji shook his head, looking away from the leg.

"An anchor doesn't do that!" He yelled at Zeff. "What were you doing in the water in the first place? Everyone else was on the ship except for..." Sanji drew in a sharp breath, looking at Zeff with wide eyes. "... Except for me, because it was too risky to get me in a storm but..." Tears gathered in the corner of Sanji's eyes. "Why? Why would you..."

"Save some brat like you?" Zeff mumbled. "Because... We share the same dream?" Sanji stared at him.

"All... Blue...?" He asked. Zeff smirked slightly.

"I sailed nearly the entire world," He began rambling. "I saw that there was a possibility of such a sea existing. One that has all the fish of the entire world in a single location. But... I don't want to be a pirate without my crew." Zeff muttered. "Even if they didn't believe in All Blue, they were still my nakama..." Zeff suddenly dissolved into another coughing fit, much more violent than the first.

Sanji feared the worst.

"H-Hey! You can't leave me here!" He cried, shaking Zeff again. "Don't die!"

"... You know, there are probably hundreds of people who die like this..." Zeff murmured after he stopped coughing. "Struggling in the desert for weeks, eventually dying from dehydration or starvation..." Sanji silently listened, considering it as well. "I've been to deserts before, to jungles and frigid seas... and I thought that a restaurant in the middle of one of them would be nice." Sanji nodded eagerly.

"You could make one in the middle of the desert! And I'll help too!" Zeff chuckled hoarsely.

"Like a weak kid like you could help me."

"I'll become stronger, just you wait!" Zeff chuckled again, not quite moving.

"Stupid kid."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Day 45**

"Hey! Stop! I think I see something!"

"What? It's two people!"

"Are they dead? Victims of the desert?"

"No! They're still alive, but barely! Help me out!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"He... He lost his leg saving me," Sanji wheezed out, pulling himself up. Luffy glanced back, worried.

"Sanji?"

"I won't give this restaurant... to anyone!" Sanji yelled, standing on shaky legs. "And I won't let anyone kill the old man either," He growled out. "I'll give anything to repay that debt! Even if it costs me my life!"

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Zoro lay quietly in the dark room, thoughts racing. He was laying on a small bed in a small room, darkened to help him sleep.

Like he was going to sleep with so many thoughts buzzing like hornets in his head. Sighing, Zoro looked down at himself. Bandages. Lots of them. He turned his head to the side, where his lamp was sitting on a small box. Whole.

Then Zoro became perplexed as he stared at it, sitting up. He grimaced slightly as he reached an arm for the lamp. _Ow_. Holding the lamp up, he then examined where it seemed different.

The lamp was still bronze, albeit with a somewhat dulled sheen. It was still about eight inches long; simple and ornate. But what caught Zoro's eye was the long, diagonal streak of silver metal running in an entire circle around the lamp; as though it had been broken in half, from the right side of its handle to the left side of its spout, and melded together with unmatching metal that warped the bronze around it.

Zoro looked down at his bandaged chest again, thoughtfully placing the lamp back.

"Was it really that close...?" He murmured.

"Even closer." Zoro looked up to see Nami standing in the doorway, a small bowl in her hands. Awkwardly she walked over and handed it to him. "Here. I snuck into the kitchen." Zoro's stomach rumbled slightly and he stared down, perplexed.

"... Still not used to that." He muttered. Nami giggled slightly, sitting in a small chair in the corner.

"I imagine not." There was a long, awkward silence only filled by the slight sounds of spoon against bowl. Zoro finished quickly and eyed her.

"... What are your wishes?" Nami gave a start and turned to see Zoro scrutinizing her.

"W-What?"

"If you had three wishes, what would you want? Hypothetically." Zoro said. Nami shook herself.

"Treasure, treasure, and more treasure~!" She said cheekily, winking at him. Zoro wasn't amused.

"Don't lie." Nami held her grin for a second, then slowly let it drop.

"I... I don't..." Zoro snorted at the look on her face, leaning back.

"I've heard thousands of wishes, baka. Somehow I doubt anything you want is quite as shallow as countless masters. Did you know that half of them wished for their own harem?" Nami's eyes widened.

"What?" Her eyes narrowed. "And...?" Zoro snickered slightly.

"I gave them a harem, all right." Nami almost felt sorry for them at the look on his face. Almost. She shook her head, grinning.

"I don't know if I want to trust my wishes with someone with such creative interpretations. For all I know you could wind me up at the bottom of the sea if I wishes for sunken treasure." Zoro smirked.

"Maybe. That's happened, too. Great way to get out of the last two wishes."

"... Oh." After another awkward silence Nami shook her head. "Well, that doesn't matter. You're planning on staying with them, apparently." Zoro was silent for a long minute.

"... Yes... I suppose so." Nami looked at him.

"Why?" Zoro stared back.

"Why not?" Nami looked at him incredulously.

"'Why not?'" She repeated. "Why aren't you trying to get free of both that lamp _and_ them? Why aren't you taking the opportunities that Luffy keeps giving you and jumping out the nearest window?"

"Why aren't you?" Nami stopped short at the question.

"... I have something to do," Nami murmured finally. "And a lot of people waiting for it to be done." Zoro inclined his head.

"I made a promise a long time ago, one that I bound everything I am to." He said. "But there's something in my country that meant a lot more than any promise." Nami looked at him curiously. For someone that preferred death to a promise broken, what could it be?

"What could mean more than _that_?" Nami asked incredulously, pointing at Zoro's bandaged torso.

"Nakama." Zoro snorted at Nami's look of disbelief. "It holds a lot more volume than it seems. It's a promise between comrades, the ones that will hold your sword when you yourself are unable to commit seppoku."

"Seppoku?" Zoro made a stabbing motion to his stomach, and Nami suddenly felt ill.

"It's our way of keeping our honor... Well, I suppose I'm not a samurai anymore." He added humorlessly. "I should have done so instead of shamefully binding myself to a lamp. I suppose I'm much too attached to life. Ah," Zoro leaned back, closing his eyes. "It'll be fine now." Nami stared.

"How? Do you really trust _Luffy_ that much?" Nami demanded. "The same Luffy that eats everything, whines about little things, and has the strength of a caveman?"

"I do." It was said with such conviction that it made Nami completely silent. "I wasn't sure that he knew the full meaning of nakama myself, he would toss the word around so carelessly, but..." He looked at Nami. "I suppose he uses it so freely because he has every right to. He _knows_ and _believes_ in its meaning, and he won't let anyone cow him into thinking otherwise. That says a lot about a person to me." Nami shook her head.

"He's too careless though. When I first met him, he instantly asked me to become his nakama. What does that say to you?" Zoro eyed her.

"That he thinks you're a good person." Nami flinched.

"I... I'm not a good person." Zoro slowly lay back in the bed, closing his eyes.

"That's not what the captain thinks." Soon soft snores drifted to the thoughtful Nami, and she turned to the lamp.

It was there. No witnesses. She could just take it and make her wishes...

"_He thinks you're a good person."_ Zoro's voice echoed in her mind. Nami shook her head slowly.

"I'm not a good person, Zoro." Nami whispered. She gave the lamp one last glance before slowly walking out the door.

"But I can wait a little longer."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**BOOM!** Usopp jerked in surprise as Luffy's leg slammed into the sand, sending up a spray that seemed to pound into everything around. Krieg's eyes seemed to bug out of his head.

"Gin! Fool! Kill that man _now_!" Gin's hand became shaky as he held the blade under Zeff's throat.

"B-But..." Luffy blinked.

"Why? I didn't attack anyone. Just the sand."

"What the hell are you thinking?" Sanji yelled. "You just missed the Baratie!"

"... I'm going to destroy the restaurant."

"!" Both the bandits and the chefs began yelling at Luffy. The restaurant was why they were fighting! Sanji grabbed Luffy's collar.

"What the hell have we been fighting for? Why have I stayed here all these years?" Luffy stared back blankly.

"If I destroy the restaurant, then they'll have no reason to attack." Sanji twitched.

"Don't you realize how important this place is?" Luffy slapped away his hand.

"So you want to die for it?" Luffy demanded. "Idiot!" Luffy grabbed Sanji's collar. "You don't get saved only to throw your life away! If someone pays the price for your life, then how is dying repayment?" Sanji gaped at Luffy for all of five seconds before shoving his hands away.

"Che. Like you'd know." A strange look passed over Luffy's face before he only growled under his breath.

"You coward!"

"Hey, hey, don't fight." Luffy and Sanji turned to see Pearl come up behind them, a flashy grin on his face. "Unfortunately, you're both wrong. You've had the misfortune of meeting Krieg's Bandits today." He stomped his way towards them. "And you can't do anything about it, because we have a hostage! Pearl Special! Fire..."

The knife fell to the sand in front of the startled Zeff.

"A-GACK!"

"Gin!" Luffy and Sanji stopped dead to Gin slam his tonfa into Pearl's shield, smashing it in half and badly damaging the large man.

"Gin... Why...?" Pearl choked out. Gin barely spared him a glance.

"Get out of my way."

"Gin! Are you trying to betray me?" Krieg roared. Gin shook his head slwoly.

"No, Krieg... I'm not. But can I end this man's life," Gin pointed directly at Sanj. "With my own two hands?" Luffy then muttered something about his 'plan', leaving Sanji to yell at him. Krieg, meanwhile, was livid.

"Have you lost your mind?" He demanded. Gin ignored him, turning to Sanji.

"I want to end your life quickly, Sanji," Gin said calmly. "If only because you seem eager to stay here until the bitter end. As the second in command of Krieg's Bandits, let this be my honor to you, to kill you myself." Sanji twitched slightly.

"Like hell." Gin turned to Luffy.

"And you should have left with the girl and that long-nosed idiot earlier, just leaving behind the genie. You can always get whatever you want as the prince of East Blue." Luffy glared.

"Like I'd leave behind nakama, even to a bunch of weak guys like you!" When the bandits began yelling in outrage, Luffy only shrugged. "You guys are only strong because there are more of you, right?"

Every bandit was sent flying by the enormous slap to their pride.

"KILL THAT KID!"

"RIP HIS TONGUE OUT!"

"WE'LL SHOW HIM!"

Despite himself, Usopp had to chuckle under his breath. Luffy really knew where to hit them. Hard. After calming the bandits, Krieg scowled at Luffy, then grinned nastily.

"So kid, how's that guardian of yours holding up? You know, with only one arm?" Krieg chuckled under his breath when Luffy's head whipped to Krieg, eyes narrowed. Sanji blinked.

"One arm...?"

"Akagami Shanks lost his arm years ago protecting the royal family," Usopp suddenly said. He looked at Sanji oddly. "Didn't you hear about it? It was about ten years ago." Sanji could piece together the story by the dark look Luffy was giving Krieg and his previous words.

He had to force himself not to glance back at Zeff's own missing limb.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Nami changed the bandages on Zoro's sleeping form, making sure to tie them tight. She frowned slightly at the lamp.

"I don't get it. We fixed the lamp, it should fix him." She muttered under her breath. "Was it the silver?"

**Crash!** Nami tied off the last of the bandages and sat up straight, not noticing Zoro do the same. "What was that?"

"Don't know. Let's go find out." Nami whirled to see Zoro sitting up and reaching for his katana already. She slapped his hand.

"Idiot! You're still wounded! Stay here or I'll kill you myself!" Zoro seemed to contemplate his choices before laying back, scowling.

"Witch."

"Masochist."

Nami raced down the stairs, staff in hand, only to stop short at the sight before her. It seemed that all of the chefs were inside the restaurant. Nami walked down the stairs slowly, then came upon Usopp sitting near a table. She looked at Usopp worriedly.

"What's going on?" Usopp turned to Nami.

"Krieg blew up some sort of poison bomb," He said. "Luffy and Sanji grabbed some antidote masks from some bandits and I..." Usopp chose that particular moment to look down, and Nami followed his gaze.

She giggled slightly, then schooled her features into a frown.

"Usopp, why are you sitting on the bandit that got us into this mess?"

Usopp was sitting on Gin. Or rather, he was sitting so he pinned Gin's arms to his chest, leaving him unable to choke and/or maul his apparent savior. Gin himself was struggling heavily, but Usopp braced himself by the nearby table and was unmoved even as he shrugged.

"He tried to throw his own mask away, so I grabbed him when everyone was running inside. He even asked Krieg to leave the restaurant alone! So he can't be a bad guy, right?" Usopp hesitated, but shook his head. "Luffy and Sanji are still outside. They stole their own masks, so they should be fine. The restaurant is apparently protected from sand storms and such, so the gas can't get in here."

"Let me go! Krieg wants me to die!" Nami stared at the bandit below Usopp.

"Just because someone tells you to die, you'd do it?" She demanded, pointing outside. "Luffy is out there kicking your precious leader's ass, right now! And you still think he's so great?" Gin looked up at Nami curiously.

"Don't you think Arlong is great?" Usopp blinked and looked at the suddenly pale Nami.

"Who's Arlong, Nami?" Nami only fixed her stare on Gin, who looked at her oddly.

"Of course I recognized you. I simply assumed that..." He nodded towards the door to the best of his abilities, and Nami's glare intensified.

"Of course that's why!" She snapped. "Now mind your own business! You betrayed him, so its none of your concern, now!" Gin nodded slowly.

"You're right, you're right... I just," He hesitated. "Will Arlong chase us?" He suddenly asked. "I mean, you should know, right? You're practically his right hand-"

**Slam!**

Nami shoved Usopp off Gin and shoved her hand on his chest, sending his head back to the floor. Painfully. She grabbed his collar and hoisted him up.

"If you _ever_," She gritted out. "Speak of that again, I _will_ kill you myself, and save Arlong the trouble. Is that clear?" Gin whimpered and nodded. "Good." Suddenly a bright, cat like smile adorned Nami's face. "And you _will_ accept these nice people's help. You will _not_ go out and be suicidal, because your boss is likely getting the crap kicked out of him by now."

"Krieg... never loses..." He muttered weakly in protest. Nami sighed to herself, turning to the confused Usopp.

"When will the gas dissipate?"

"It should be gone by now." The three looked to see Zeff walking up to them. He pointed to the stairs as Patty and Carne began to open the doors. "You should go to the balcony if you want to watch." Nami nodded and motioned for Usopp to grab Gin.

"I think he needs to see Luffy fight."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Okay, sorry about the long wait! Really! Sorry to you too, Tamari... I really hated it, but I was actually working on this thing the whole time! Honest! Forcing this chapter out was like squeezing out the last of the toothpaste, leaving behind a sad, shriveled container of 'Arabian Nights Inspiration'. So I really don't know when I'll be able to update again, sorry. My inspiration is all lying there pathetic and helpless... TT TIME TO BREAK OUT THE ALADDIN CD! *fwooshes away to find inspiration*

And sorry about the crappy quality of this chapter. I kept redoing a bunch of parts, but it just doesn't seem to be right. Really sorry...

Thanks to Neko11, ShinigamiWanabe, Tamari (especially for reminding me), kallakkala, Mayo2198, blacklightningwolf, cb 0 chan, yuukiwhitewolf, and animeXIII for your reviews! That's a lot of people!

Remember the next to review makes it to the ONE HUNDRED REVIEW MARK! *dies*


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